P1 1WHEREAS, Inscribed on our nation’s Statue of Liberty are the
2words, “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses
3yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming
4shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp
5beside the golden door!”; and
6WHEREAS, The number of unaccompanied Central American
7children fleeing violence and entering the United States has resulted
8in 52,000 apprehensions by United States Immigration and
9Customs Enforcement, with a projected total of 90,000
10apprehensions of unaccompanied minors expected by the end of
11September 2014; and
12WHEREAS, Approximately 28 percent of the children detained
13this year have been from Honduras, 24 percent from Guatemala,
14and 21 percent from El Salvador, countries whose respective
15murder rates are among the top six highest murder rates in the
16world; and
17WHEREAS, The violence in Honduras that is driving
18unaccompanied minors to migrate to the United States can be
19traced back to the 2009 military coup d’état, and subsequent
20election of Porfirio Lobo, which the United States immediately
21recognized despite the fact that Mr. Lobo’s administration retained
22most of the military figures who perpetrated the illegal coup; and
23WHEREAS, State-sponsored repression accelerated during the
24coup and subsequent Lobo Administration, including the use of
P2 1death squads, the disappearance of opposition leaders, and the
2killing of innocent civilians and journalists; and
3WHEREAS, The United States has maintained, and in some
4areas increased, military and police financing to Honduras, despite
5compelling evidence linking the Lobo Administration to rampant
6corruption and human rights abuses; and
7WHEREAS, The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant
8Responsibility Act of 1996 expanded the grounds for deportation,
9resulting in the deportation of 20,000 young immigrants to Central
10America between 2000 and 2004, inclusive. By 2010, over 125,000
11immigrants had been deported, with 90 percent sent to Honduras,
12Guatemala, and El Salvador; and
13WHEREAS, Many of those deported had come to the United
14States as young children, had become native English speakers, and
15had no recollection of their home countries, often lacking
16proficiency in the native language and customs of their home
17countries; and
18WHEREAS, Taking advantage of the decades of civil war and
19unrest in Central America, and lacking the cultural competency to
20earn an honest living, many of those deported fell back into the
21gang lifestyle they had learned in the United States and began
22initiating new members to what had historically been
23American-based street gangs; and
24WHEREAS, The Central American gangs that resulted from
25the deportation policies of the United States have resulted in
26rampant violence across Central America, but most notably in
27Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, and includes homicides,
28kidnappings, human trafficking, extortions, and smuggling of
29drugs, automobiles, and weapons; and
30WHEREAS, The Office of the United Nations High
31Commissioner for Refugees urges the United States to grant
32refugee status to Central American children who have crossed the
33border, estimating that 60 percent of the children who have fled
34into the United States have been forcibly displaced, qualifying
35them for asylum under international law; and
36WHEREAS, Central American governments take full
37responsibility for the flow of unaccompanied children to the United
38States, recognizing that their respective countries could and should
39do more to mitigate the push factors driving so many children to
P3 1flee to the United States, including lack of economic development
2opportunities, rampant poverty, and political corruption; and
3WHEREAS, Central American countries acknowledge their
4responsibility to ensure successful integration for the
5unaccompanied children who are repatriated back home; and
6WHEREAS, The actions and rhetoric of some Californians who
7have blocked access to federal immigration buses transporting
8detained minors to federal immigration facilities demonstrates the
9need to educate the public about the role of American foreign
10policy has had in creating the instability that is driving so many
11young people to leave their homelands, in the belief that increased
12understanding will lead to greater compassion and responsibility
13towards these vulnerable individuals caught up in a situation not
14of their making; and
15WHEREAS, The Assembly acknowledges the role of United
16States foreign and domestic policy in destabilizing Central America
17and driving unaccompanied minors to emigrate from their
18homeland and recognizes that the formulation of stronger
19partnerships between Central American countries, California, and
20the United States as a whole are necessary in order to foster
21economic development in sending countries to curtail mass
22migration and improve public safety, tourism, and education; now,
23therefore, be it
24Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, That the
25Assembly declares that the residents of California, as residents of
26the United States, have a duty to respect the human dignity of those
27immigrants and ensure they are afforded equal protection under
28the laws of the United States, including safe and unobstructed
29passage to federal immigration processing facilities, medical care,
30and education, as well as access to a mode of communication that
31can help facilitate their repatriation back to Central America when
32doing so does not endanger their lives and safety; and be it further
33Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
34of this resolution to the Governor, the Superintendent of Public
35Instruction, the State Library, and the California State Archives.
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