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RES- 2014 -079 <br />ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF EQUAL ACCESS FOR IMMIGRANT CHILDREN <br />WHEREAS, Orange County, North Carolina, is a compassionate and caring community that is <br />committed to creating a welcoming atmosphere that values equality and social justice; and <br />WHEREAS, the number of unaccompanied children and minors from Central American nations <br />seeking refuge in the United States has dramatically risen over the last three years; and <br />WHEREAS, the vast majority of the children seeking refuge in the United States are fleeing <br />extreme violence and poverty, including from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras; and <br />WHEREAS, Honduras is the country with the world's highest murder rate, while El Salvador's <br />murder rate is the fourth highest in the world; and <br />WHEREAS, the majority of the children entering the United States are returning to parents or <br />other family members who are present in the United States, including those children coming to <br />North Carolina; and <br />WHEREAS, approximately 1,429 of these children have been placed in North Carolina since <br />January 2014; and <br />WHEREAS, those children arriving in our community have the right under the United States <br />Constitution to equal access to a public education, basic health care, and the protection of law <br />enforcement; <br />NOW THEREFORE, be it resolved that the Orange County Board of Commissioners hereby: <br />• Affirms that Orange County is a welcoming community to children seeking <br />refuge from violence in their home countries and to the sponsors of these <br />children; <br />• Affirms the rights of children to attend public schools and to access basic health <br />care in the county they reside, without regards to their immigration status; <br />• Urges our congressional representatives, the Obama Administration, the <br />Department of Homeland Security, and Governor Pat McCrory to ensure that the <br />thousands of minors seeking safety within our borders and being apprehended by <br />Border Patrol receive due process and legal representation in court hearings; <br />• Directs the County Manager and all county departments to make services and <br />resources available to help welcome children into our community who are seeking <br />refuge from violence in their home countries; <br />• Encourages continuing collaboration between Orange County and other local <br />governmental entities and advocacy organizations to support and protect these <br />children; and <br />• Directs the Chair of the Board and the Clerk to forward this Resolution to each of <br />the local governments in Orange County, including both Boards of Education, and <br />respectfully requests that each consider adopting similar resolutions, and also <br />forward this resolution to our state legislative delegation, and to the North <br />Carolina Association of Counties. <br />ADOPTED THIS THE P DAY OF DECEMBER, 2014. <br />Chair <br />Orange County Board of Commissioners <br />K <br />