Fort
Wayne mayor signs refugee-support letter to Congress
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry has joined
with more than 60 mayors around the nation in a signed letter to Congress in
support of the embattled Syrian refugee resettlement program.
The open letter, drafted Friday by Baltimore Mayor Stephanie
Rawlings-Blake and signed by 61 other mayors including Henry, is intended to
notify Congress of the mayors’ support for the federal government’s refugee
resettlement system and to “recognize the importance of continuing to welcome
refugees to our country and to our cities.”
Since last week’s terror attacks in Paris that killed 130 and
injured some 350 more, more than half of the nation’s governors have blocked
Syrian refugees from coming to their states while House Republicans pushed for
the refugee resettlement program to be put on hold.
SEE | An open letter to Congress
from the nation’s mayors: http://usmayors.org/RefugeeLetter/OpenLettertoCongressfromMayors.pdf
Certain city mayors around the country, though, disagree.
“In recent days some have suggested that Congress should halt
the entry of refugees, particularly Syrian refugees, to this nation,” the
letter reads. “We urge you to resist this call and take no action that will
prevent Syrian refugees from entering the United States after they have
completed the screening process.”
The letter explained that last year, the U.S. Conference of
Mayors adopted a policy that promotes the nation’s work to protect and welcome
refugees, and said the conference supports the refugee resettlement program as
it aligns with that policy. The letter said the resettlement program includes a
rigorous screening system which subjects potential refugees to the “most
rigorous screening and security vetting of any category of traveler to the
United States.”
It added: “Our nation has always been a beacon of hope for those
seeking peace and protection from persecution. We urge you to take no action
that will jeopardize this rich and proud heritage.”
In a statement to NewsChannel 15 late Friday, Henry said the
city will welcome refugees as it has done before.
“While it’s not expected that the City of Fort Wayne will
receive Syrian refugees, our community has been a leader in refugee efforts,
most notably with our Burmese population,” Henry told NewsChannel 15. “Today’s
letter from mayors across the country is consistent with Fort Wayne’s
anti-discrimination ordinance, which states discrimination in social, cultural,
and economic life in Fort Wayne against any person or persons because of race,
sex, color, religion, disability, ancestry, national origin, place of birth,
age or sexual orientation, is harmful to the social, cultural, and economic
life of the city.”
The open letter was signed by prominent mayors like Bill de
Blasio of New York City, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Muriel E. Bowser of
Washington D.C., Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Michael S. Rawlings of Dallas.
Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg also signed
it from Indiana.
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