Amended in Assembly August 19, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 49

Introduced by Assembly Member Gonzalez

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(Coauthors: Assembly Members Alejo, Hall, and V. Manuel Pérez)

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July 2, 2014

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 49—Relative to immigration.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AJR 49, as amended, Gonzalez. Immigration: deportation.

This measure would urge President Obama to take executive action to suspend any further deportations of unauthorized individuals with no serious criminal history.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, According to the Pew Hispanic Center, in 2011,
there were 11.1 million unauthorized immigrants living in the
United States; and

WHEREAS, Deportations have reached record levels under
President Obama, rising to an annual average of nearly 400,000
since 2009; and

WHEREAS, According to Members of Congress Raul M.
Grijalva and Yvette Clarke, although the Obama Administration
reportedly prioritized deporting only criminals, many individuals
with no serious criminal history consistently have been deported;
and

WHEREAS, Increased deportations and a continuously broken
immigration system exacerbate the living conditions of United
States citizen children whose parents have been deported; and

WHEREAS, Separation of children from their parents,
irrespective of immigration status, always results in severe
consequences for young begin delete children end delete begin insert children, end insert who are begin insert often end insert left with
no parental guidance or care and a highly unstable financial
situation; and

WHEREAS, As immigration continues to be at the center of a
national debate, President Obama and Congress must implement
a more humanitarian immigration policy that keeps families
together; and

WHEREAS, California is home to approximately 10.3 million
immigrants of which approximately 2.6 million are not authorized
to live in the United States; and

WHEREAS, Many Members of Congress recently signed a
letter requesting President Obama to suspend any further
deportations; and

WHEREAS, Since California is home to a large number of
unauthorized immigrants from all parts of the world, this state
should make it a priority to keep families together and continue
to press President Obama and Congress for a solution to our broken
federal immigration system; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of
California, jointly, That the Legislature urges President Obama to
take executive action to suspend any further deportations of
begin delete unauthorized end delete begin insert legalization-eligible end insert individuals with no serious
criminal history; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United
States, to the Speaker of the United States House of
Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the United States Senate,
and to each Senator and Representative from California in the
Congress of the United States, and to the author for appropriate
distribution.