Res. No. 1105-A

Resolution calling upon the President and the State Department to resettle at least 10,000 Syrian refugees in the United States of America by the end of fiscal year 2016 and to increase such number to 65,000 by the end of fiscal year 2017.

By Council Members Levin, Menchaca, Lander, Gibson, Ferreras-Copeland, Rosenthal, Cohen, Dromm, Koo and Kallos

Whereas, March of 2016 marked the fifth anniversary of Syria’s civil war, which caused almost five million Syrians to flee their homeland as refugees and displaced almost seven million; and

Whereas, The number of Syrian refugees has exponentially increased as the conflict in Syria has worsened, and the number is only expected to grow; and

Whereas, The United Nations (“U.N.”) has called on the United States (U.S.) and other stable countries to accept the most vulnerable victims of the conflict; and

Whereas, According to Human Rights First, as of January 2016, the U.S. has received over 26,500 referrals for Syrians from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (“U.N.H.C.R.”) since 2011 but has resettled only about nine percent of that number; and

Whereas, The U.N.H.C.R. has recommended that 10 percent of the overall Syrian refugee population, equivalent to 4.8 million people, are in need of resettlement; and

Whereas, The U.S. has admitted approximately 4,100 Syrian refugees since the beginning of the 2011 Syrian civil war; and

Whereas, Of this number, over 120 refugees have resettled in the New York State; and

Whereas, Historically, the U.S. has admitted half of all cases referred by the U.N.H.C.R., but during this crisis has accepted far fewer cases; and

Whereas, In March of 2016, the State Department reaffirmed its commitment to resettle at least 10,000 Syrians in fiscal year 2016 and increase the total number of resettled refugees from around the world to 100,000 by the end of fiscal year  2017; and

Whereas, The State Department did not announce how many Syrian refugees will be accepted in fiscal year 2017; and

Whereas, In 2015, at least 14 U.S. senators called for the government to take in 65,000 Syrian refugees by the end of 2016; and

Whereas, During the current robust U.S. screening process refugees are assessed by the National Counterterrorism Center, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the departments of Homeland Security, State and Defense; and

Whereas, Coalitions such as the Refugee Council USA call on the U.S. to accept much larger numbers of Syrian refugees than are currently accepted; and

Whereas, Thousands of refugees, including entire families and children, have died attempting to flee Syria; and

Whereas, In response to terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels, some state officials have recently called for the U.S. to discontinue accepting Syrian refugees and have announced that Syrian refugees are not welcome to be resettled in their states; and

Whereas, The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed H.R. 4038 or the American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act of 2015, which would  restrict the admission of Iraqi and Syrian refugees to America by requiring that they undergo extra security procedures; and

Whereas, Innocent Syrian civilians need a safe place to go and as a world leader the United States has a moral obligation to expediently assist these individuals, instead of turning them away or creating additional restrictions on their settlement; and

Whereas, The U.S. has a proud history of welcoming refugees, and has the highest aspirations to compassion, generosity and leadership, and should welcome additional Syrian refugees in 2017; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the President and the State Department to resettle at least 10,000 Syrian refugees in the United States of America by the end of fiscal year 2016 and to increase such number to 65,000 by the end of fiscal year 2017.

LS# 6199

6/2/2016

MA/WJH