Senate Resolution No. 40

Introduced by Senators Correa, Beall, Block, Cannella, Corbett, De León, DeSaulnier, Evans, Hancock, Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Jackson, Lara, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Mitchell, Monning, Padilla, Pavley, Roth, Steinberg, Torres, and Wolk

April 10, 2014

Senate Resolution No. 40—Relative to immigration.

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 Congress members 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 children who are 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 unauthorized
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 Senate of the State of California, That the Senate
urges President Obama to take executive action to suspend any
further deportations of unauthorized individuals with no serious
criminal history; and be it further

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