Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 94

Introduced by Senator Pan

January 7, 2016

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 94—Relative to Day of Inclusion.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SCR 94, as introduced, Pan. Day of Inclusion.

This measure would acknowledge December 17 each year as an annual “Day of Inclusion” in recognition and appreciation of the priceless contributions of all immigrants to the greatness of the United States and California.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, In 1886, the United States Supreme Court, in Yick
Wo v. Hopkins (1886) 118 U.S. 356, 369, stated that “the
Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution... says: ‘Nor shall any
state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due
process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the
equal protection of the laws.’ These provisions are universal in
their application to all persons within the territorial jurisdiction,
without regard to any differences of race, of color, or of
nationality”; and

WHEREAS, The Burlingame Treaty of 1868, which encouraged
the flow of Chinese immigration, was signed into law with the
intent to protect Chinese in the United States against discrimination,
exploitation, and violence in the United States; and

WHEREAS, Chinese immigrants arrived in large numbers and
greatly contributed to the advancement and progress of the United
States to its position as one of the world’s greatest superpowers,
through contributions including assisting in building the first
transcontinental railway connecting the country from east to west
by laying down tracks throughout the dangerous Sierra Nevada
mountain terrain, parting the waters to build the vital levees of the
California Delta, and establishing California’s world-class
agriculture and fishing industries; and

WHEREAS, The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was the first
major law to single out and forbid a specific ethnic group, the
Chinese, from immigrating to and becoming naturalized citizens
of the United States, and was followed by the Geary Act of 1892,
which extended the prohibitions of the Chinese Exclusion Act of
1882 and imposed new and onerous requirements on Chinese
immigrants; and

WHEREAS, In the wake of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
and the Geary Act of 1892, additional laws were enacted to
perpetuate discrimination and unequal treatment of Chinese and
other minority groups, including numerous antimiscegenation laws
that prohibited marriage between white women and men of
minority background or ancestry; the Alien Land Law of 1913 that
prohibited “aliens ineligible for citizenship” from owning land or
property; the Cable Act of 1922 that terminated the United States
citizenship of any woman who married an alien ineligible for
United States citizenship; and the Immigration Act of 1924 that
limited the number of immigrants who could be admitted from
any country and prohibited the immigration of all Asians; and

WHEREAS, The Chinese fought against unequal treatment and
filed hundreds of appeals, resulting in 17 cases being brought
before the United States Supreme Court, thereby invoking the
protections of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of
the United States; and

WHEREAS, The Chinese Exclusion Act, passed on May 6,
1882, was finally repealed on December 17, 1943, by way of the
Magnuson Act, marking a turning point in societal reaction toward
immigrants and their common struggle for fairness and equality;
and

WHEREAS, An abundant list of Chinese Americans have
contributed their time, energy, and talents toward the betterment
and progress of this nation and all peoples: Jerry Yang (cofounder
of Yahoo! Inc.), Charles Wang (founder of Computer Associates
International, Inc.), and others have founded and led some of this
nation’s great companies; John Liu Fugh (first Chinese American
officer to attain the rank of General in the United States Army),
Francis B. Wai (first Chinese American to receive the Medal of
Honor), and others have contributed their lives in service to our
nation; Tsung-Dao Lee (Nobel Prize recipient in Physics), Roger
Y. Tsien (Nobel Prize recipient in Chemistry), and others have
contributed their great skills and talents to the fields of science
and mathematics; Hiram Leong Fong (first Chinese American to
be elected as a United States Senator), Thomas Tang (first Chinese
American appointed to the federal judiciary), and others have led
and continue to lead at all levels of government; and

WHEREAS, According to data from the 2000 United States
Census, immigrant business owners generate $67 billion of the
$577 billion in United States business income, or approximately
12 percent, as estimated by the federal Small Business
Administration’s Office of Advocacy; and

WHEREAS, Chinese Americans share many commonalities
with other minority groups within the United States: all reside in
the United States in search of opportunities to better their lives
and the lives of their families, hope to fulfill their dreams through
diligence and hard work, experience prejudice and discrimination
from both society and government, and nevertheless succeed in
many respects despite much adversity and many stresses and
pressures; and

WHEREAS, Executive Order 9066, issued by President Franklin
D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, allowed for the incarceration
of 120,000 Japanese Americans without due process of the law as
well as the discharge of Japanese Americans serving in the Armed
Forces, and was followed by the establishment of the War
Relocation Authority to administer the relocation of Japanese
Americans to internment camps; and

WHEREAS, On August 10, 1988, President Ronald W. Reagan
signed the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which found that Executive
Order 9066 was caused by racial prejudice, war hysteria, and a
failure of political leadership, apologized on behalf of the people
of the United States for the evacuation, internment, and relocation
of Japanese Americans during World War II, and provided for
restitution to those Japanese Americans who were interned; and

WHEREAS, The repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
on December 17, 1943, 61 years after its enactment, marks the
date when the United States expressed a commitment to break
down cultural barriers, appreciate differences, enrich cultural
diversity, and further racial, religious, and cultural tolerance; and

WHEREAS, According to the data from the United States
Federal Bureau of Investigation, in concurrence with the ongoing
immigration reform debate, hate crimes targeting Hispanic
Americans rose 40 percent from 2003 to 2007, marking four
consecutive years of increases; and

WHEREAS, The amount of anti-Semitic extremist rhetoric and
activity has increased, causing Jewish Americans and institutions
to fall victim to bias-motivated violence; and

WHEREAS, Despite the commitment of the United States to
further racial, religious, and cultural tolerance, embodied by the
repeal of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, intolerance and
discrimination against immigrants and minority groups persist,
and the 73rd anniversary of the repeal of the Chinese Exclusion
Act of 1882, on December 17, 2016, represents a timely and
excellent opportunity for our nation to rededicate itself to the
eradication of intolerance and discrimination against immigrants
and minority groups; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature joins all Californians
throughout the state in acknowledging December 17 each year as
an annual “Day of Inclusion” in recognition and appreciation of
the priceless contributions of all immigrants to the greatness of
the United States and especially to our great state, California; and
be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.