Council adopts Mayor Benjamin’s “Refugee Children” resolution
August 6, 2014
COLUMBIA, SC – Columbia City Council today adopted a resolution proposed by Mayor Steve Benjamin that welcomes unaccompanied immigrant and refugee children placed with sponsor families in the city and calls on local, state and federal officials to enact comprehensive immigration reform.
“When the City of Columbia was founded in 1786, Senator John Lewis Gervais said that he hoped ‘the oppressed of every land might find a refuge under the wings of Columbia.’ Today, City Council lived up to that vision and I couldn’t be more proud.”
Furthermore, today’s resolution called on Congress “to enact a comprehensive immigration reform plan that secures our borders, grows our economy and gives undocumented youth and their families the chance to earn their citizenship.”
Today’s resolution follows recent news that 350 children detained by immigration authorities were released to sponsors, typically relatives, in the State of South Carolina between January 1, 2014 and July 7, 2014 to be cared for while their immigration case is processed.
These 350 refugee children, who had no parent or guardian available to care for them when they were taken into custody, represent less than 1.2% of the 30,340 displaced children released to sponsor families across the nation.
“Many of these children have come to our country fleeing violence, abuse and narco-terrorism or as victims of human trafficking,” said Mayor Benjamin. “These aren’t criminals and their not statistics. They’re children and we can’t let divisive political rhetoric blind us to their struggle.”
Moving forward, City Council is expected to put together a workgroup tasked with finding additional ways the City can help meet the needs of refugee children placed in Columbia and urges other leaders to do the same as the nation responds to what is a growing humanitarian crisis at our southern border.
The full resolution can be found at http://www.columbiasc.net/depts/city-council/docs/2014/08_05_2014/resolution_2014_074_refugee_children_immigration.pdf
