SAN DIEGO – The San Diego City Council meets in close session at 10am today.  Among items for consideration is the City of Chicago’s request that San Diego join the amicus curiae brief in State of Washington vs. Donald Trump to denounce the U.S. Government’s suspension of refugee admissions and its unconstitutional ban on admissions of citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries.

In this letter, more than thirty local organizations and individuals urge the San Diego City Council to sign on to the amicus brief.

The full text of the letter, along with a partial list of signatories, follows:

February 13, 2017

Dear San Diego City Councilmembers,

We, the undersigned civil society and business organizations, urge the San Diego City Council to join the City of Chicago in filing an amicus curiae brief in State of Washington vs. Donald Trump to denounce the U.S. Government’s suspension of refugee admissions and its unconstitutional ban on admissions of citizens of seven Muslim- majority countries. The executive order that established these policies violates fundamental principles of human rights and bedrock tenets of Constitutional law; and it betrays our values as a nation of immigrants and as San Diegans. Its implementation has had cruel and arbitrary consequences for many people fleeing persecution or seeking to enter the United States to reunite with family, receive medical treatment, or pursue professional and educational opportunities.

San Diego has a profound interest in this matter, as a significant number of San Diegans are directly impacted. We are an international metropolitan region; cross-border travel and trade are vital to our economic and social well-being; we are on the front line of the immigration issue; and we have the nation’s fourth highest population of residents from the seven countries named in the travel ban. San Diego has a uniquely knowledgeable perspective and we must be of one voice in saying that this executive order harms our community, undermines its values, and threatens our shared future.

Last week, the Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the temporary injunction on enforcing this ill-conceived executive order. While not a final resolution to the matter, the opinion is a clear indicator of deeply flawed policies. The 9th Circuit opinion is unambiguous that the executive order offers startlingly little clarity regarding the ways authorities may interpreted and implemented it how many people may be affected by it and in what ways. There is no guidance whatsoever as to what new restrictions may follow the initial bans. In light of the urgency and uncertainty of its resolution, we urge the San Diego City Council to sign on to the amicus brief.

Many of our nation’s big-city mayors are speaking out against this executive order. Mayors in Boston, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle, among others, have issued statements and joined protests to denounce the order and to support immigrants and refugees.

“There comes a time when silence is betrayal,” said the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. It is imperative that San Diego not remain silent. We urge the City Council to approve signing on to this important amicus brief.

Sincerely,

ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties

Activist San Diego

Alliance for African Assistance

Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment

Alliance San Diego

American Friends Service Committee- San Diego

Anti-Defamation League (ADL)

Casa Cornelia

Center for Policy Initiatives

Climate Action Campaign

Council on American-Islamic Relations

Employee Rights Center

Environmental Health Coalition

IBEW Local 465

Interfaith Center for Worker Justice

Islamic Center of San Diego

Jewish Family Services

Leichtag Foundation

Main Street Alliance

Mid City CAN

New Americans Museum

Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans

Pillars of the Community

San Diego Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League

San Diego Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild

San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council

San Diego Building & Construction Trades Council

San Diego LGBT Community Center

San Diego Organizing Project

San Diego Psychological Association

SEIU 221

Showing Up for Racial Justice San Diego

 

Individuals:

Carly Graber, MSW candidate

Gloria Daviston

Reverend Juan Daniel Espitia

Karla Swatek, Vice President of Horrow Sports Ventures

William and Linda Alcala

Mejgan Afshan

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