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<br />RESOLUTION NO. 2007-.1M!:l <br /> <br />A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF <br />SUNNY ISLES BEACH, FLORIDA, REQUESTING FAIR TREATMENT <br />FOR THE ONE HUNDRED AND ONE (101) HAITIAN ASYLUM <br />SEEKERS WHO RECENTLY ARRIVED ASHORE IN HALLANDALE <br />BEACH AND REQUESTING THEIR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FROM <br />DETENTION; DIRECTING THE CITY CLERK TO FORWARD THIS <br />RESOLUTION TO APPROPRIATE FEDERAL AND STATE <br />OFFICIALS; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. <br /> <br />WHEREAS, the United States has a long history of welcoming with open anns <br />individuals who have fled their homeland because of political and economic instability; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, Haiti is a country that has been plagued by political and economic <br />instability over several decades; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, over the years many Haitian migrants have fled their homeland in search of <br />a politically safe haven and a better life in the United States; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, recently 101 Haitian Asylum Seekers arrived ashore in nearby Hallandale <br />Beach after spending three weeks at sea, without food or water, on a leaky boat; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, the immigration policy of the United States provides for the immediate <br />detention and deportation of Haitians who arrive to the United States by boat; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, numerous local civic, religious, and political organizations have expressed <br />moral outrage against the disparate treatment that Haitians have received under the immigration <br />laws of this country; <br /> <br />WHEREAS, the civic, religious, and political organizations have asked as a matter of <br />fairness and morality for the immediate release from detention of the 101 Haitian Asylum <br />Seekers; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, it has been documented that asylum seekers, who are free from detention, <br />have a better chance of winning an asylum claim due to adequate access to lawyers; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, volunteer bar associations, including the Haitian Lawyers Association, have <br />agreed to provide free legal representation to the Haitian Asylum Seekers; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, the City Commission calls upon our federal officials to release from <br />detention the 101 Haitian Asylum Seekers in order for them to pursue their asylum claims with <br />adequate access to lawyers; and <br /> <br />WHEREAS, the City Commission strongly supports the plea made by other <br />organizations for the immediate release of the 101 Haitian Asylum Seekers. <br /> <br />R2007 - Haitian Asylum Seekers Release & Treatment <br /> <br />Page I of2 <br />