SENATE MEMORIAL 42

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2017

INTRODUCED BY

Jacob R. Candelaria

A MEMORIAL

DENOUNCING A BAN TO PREVENT CERTAIN MUSLIMS FROM ENTERING THE UNITED STATES.

     WHEREAS, on Friday, January 27, 2017, the president of the United States signed an executive order to ban Syrians from taking refuge in the United States; and

     WHEREAS, the executive order also halts the United States' refugee resettlement program for four months and temporarily blocks people from certain, mostly Muslim, countries from entering the United States; and

     WHEREAS, the president approved the refugee ban on holocaust remembrance day, which honors the millions of people killed during World War II, many of whom tried to flee to the United States but were turned away; and

     WHEREAS, the executive order, among other directives, blocked refugee admissions from the war-torn country of Syria indefinitely and suspended refugee admissions from all countries for one hundred twenty days; and

     WHEREAS, the American civil liberties union and other legal organizations filed a lawsuit on behalf of individuals who were subject to the executive order's ban; and

     WHEREAS, those individuals have been detained by the United States government and threatened with deportation even though they have valid visas to enter the United States; and

     WHEREAS, the American civil liberties union argued that hundreds of immigrants and lawful visitors to the United States would suffer irreparable harm under the Muslim ban; and

     WHEREAS, in a decision and order issued on January 28, 2017 by the United States district court, eastern district of New York, the petitioners were found to have a strong likelihood of success in establishing that the removal of the petitioners and others similarly situated violates their rights to due process and equal protection guaranteed by the United States constitution; and

     WHEREAS, in that order, the court enjoined the removal of "individuals with refugee applications approved by United States citizenship and immigration services as part of the United States refugee admissions program, holders of valid immigrant and non-immigrant visas, and other individuals from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen legally authorized to enter the United States."; and

     WHEREAS, other court orders were filed by judges in at least four different cities, and the orders require maintenance of the status quo; and

     WHEREAS, the United States department of homeland security stated that it would comply with the court orders; and

     WHEREAS, in ordering the ban, the president maintained that the United States government retains the right to revoke visas at any time if it is required for national security or public policy; and

     WHEREAS, the president's executive order is a significant departure from previous executive efforts to admit more refugees into the United States and to improve relationships with Muslims; and

     WHEREAS, the president's policies are expected to affect tens of thousands of people, including refugees preparing to come to the United States; foreign nationals; immigrants; would-be visitors from designated countries; and Americans with families who now will be unable to visit; and

     WHEREAS, there are concerns that the order may also endanger United States national security interests by imperiling strategic alliances in the Middle East; and

     WHEREAS, former secretary of state Madeleine Albright called the order "a gift to the Islamic state of Iraq and Syria" to be used as propaganda in support of their anti-Western rhetoric;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that it denounce the recent ban to prevent certain Muslims from entering the United States; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the courts be encouraged to continue to assess the limits of presidential power over immigration policy and continue to maintain judicial checks against unconstitutional policies or orders; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the president of the United States, the chief justice of the United States supreme court, the president pro tempore of the United States senate, the speaker of the United States house of representatives and members of the New Mexico congressional delegation.

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