Orange County NC Website
i~~',S'-- VDU ~- do c~ <br />i-- ~.3 -aea~ <br />ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS (~ ~ <br />A Resolution Opposing the Use of Local Law Enforcement <br />to Enforce Civil Immigration Law and Policy <br />WHEREAS, Orange County is committed to the human and civil rights of its residents and to <br />-actions that preserve and protect those rights; and <br />WHEREAS, Orange County is home to a diverse population, including people of color, <br />documented and undocumented immigrants, citizens and non-citizens, whose contributions to <br />the community are vital to its character and function; and <br />WHEREAS, the Board of Commissioners is committed to upholding the civil rights of all persons <br />in Orange County and the enjoyment of any and all rights and privileges secured by the <br />constitutions and the laws of the United States, the State of North Carolina, and Orange County; <br />and <br />WHEREAS, actions taken by the federal, state and local governments, including the adoption of <br />sections of Senate Bill 1523, otherwise known as the North Carolina General Assembly's 2006 <br />Technical Corrections Bill, now threaten the rights and freedoms of portions of Orange County's <br />population; and <br />WHEREAS, Senate Bill 1523 permits local government to enter into a memorandum of <br />agreement with the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs <br />Enforcement to have law enforcement deputized to enforce civil immigration law and policy; and <br />WHEREAS, three (3) local governments, Mecklenberg, Alamance and Buncombe Counties, have <br />chosen to enter into these voluntary memoranda; and <br />WHEREAS, jurisdictions that have entered into these memoranda of agreement have <br />experienced increased violence against Latino/Hispanic communities and increased incidents of <br />reported racial profiling against people of color communities; and <br />WHEREAS, Orange County government upholds the Constitution of the United States and <br />federal and state laws and does not stand in defiance of those laws. <br />NOW, THEREFORE, the Orange County Board of Commissioners does hereby resolve: <br />Section 1. That we commit not to enter into a memorandum of agreement with Homeland Security to <br />enforce immigration laws or take any other action that might result in racial profiling or create a climate <br />of fear and hostility for any community in the County. <br />Section 2. That we encourage Orange County municipal governments to refuse to enter into <br />memoranda of agreement with the Department of Homeland Security to enforce immigration laws. <br />Section 3. That this resolution be forwarded to all Orange County law enforcement agencies, locally <br />elected officials and to our state and federal legislative delegations on behalf of the residents of Orange <br />County. <br />This the 23`d day of January 2007. <br />Moses Carey, Chair <br />Orange County Board of C issioners <br />