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HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolutions - 2016.10.06 - 22624MISCELLANEOUS RESOLUTION # 16277 BY: Commissioner Michael Spisz, District #3; Commissioner Eileen KowaII, District #6; Commissioner John A. Scott, District #5; Commissioner Adam Kochenderfer, District #15; Commissioner Hugh Crawford, District #9; Commissioner Bob Hoffman, District #2; Commissioner Robert Gosselin, District #11 IN RE: BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS — DEMANDING THAT THE OFFICE OF REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT COMPLY WITH THE REFUGEE ACT OF 1980 To the Oakland County Board of Commissioners Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen: WHEREAS Oakland County is a global community, home to more than 1,050 foreign-owned companies from 39 countries in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and South America; and WHEREAS Oakland County celebrates and values the talents and contributions of the thousands of legal immigrants who enrich the life of our community; and WHEREAS Oakland County opens our doors to refugees fleeing oppression and seeking a better life from anywhere in the world, as long as they have been properly vetted and screened for homeland security and public health concerns; and WHEREAS the Syrian Civil War and the resulting refugee crisis is an epic humanitarian challenge, demanding an international response with the participation of our nation; and WHEREAS the United States must fulfill its responsibilities to the international community for refugee resettlement within the parameters of the Refugee Act of 1980; and WHEREAS the Refugee Act of 1980 provides that the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) must consult and coordinate refugee resettlement with state and local governments on a minimum of a quarterly basis; and WHEREAS the ORR has already placed hundreds of refugees in Oakland County without that consultation and coordination taking place; and WHEREAS during the first 11 months of FY 2016, Oakland County received more refugees from Syria than 40 other states; and WHEREAS the terrorist organization the Islamic State (ISIS) has widely been reported in the media as pursuing a strategy of seeding terrorist agents among fleeing waves of refugees; and WHEREAS there have been a number of cases of refugees arriving in the United States with communicable diseases, with at least one case of active Tuberculosis in Oakland County; and WHEREAS the Oakland County Executive's requests for consultation from ORR in compliance with the provisions of federal law have been ignored; and WHEREAS the County Executive confirmed no local officials have been consulted regarding refugee resettlement during a meeting of state and county law enforcement, homeland security, public health, human services, and other officials this summer; and WHEREAS the ongoing failure of the ORR to comply with federal law requiring consultation regarding refugee resettlement constitutes an infringement upon the rights of Oakland County and its officials to fulfill their duties to protect the health, safety and welfare of its residents. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Oakland County Board of Commissioners join with Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson in demanding that the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) comply with the Refugee Act of 1980 and consult with Oakland County and its local governments regarding the settlement of refugees in the County. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Oakland County Board of Commissioners support Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson's call to take legal action if necessary to ensure that ORR comply with the law. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the County of Oakland is directed to forward a copy of this resolution to the Governor of the State of Michigan, State Senate Majority and Minority Leaders, the State House Speaker and Minority Leader, members of the Oakland County delegation to the Michigan Legislature, the President of the United States, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, Oakland County's representatives in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Director of the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement. Chairperson, I move the adoption of the foregoing Resolution. o-diL ontmiedioner Eileen Kowall District #6 ts_p loner John A. S lop4r Hugh Crawford ///" /A7.7 ornMiSsioner - — District # Commissioner Borla Ho Commissioner I 1.0-frt..-e-7 Commissioner (12n11stire L4mmissioner District # Commissioner District # Resolution *16277 October 6, 2016 The Chairperson referred the resolution to the General Government Committee, There were no objections.