City Council to Weigh Resolution in Support of Continuing to Welcome Refugees to Alexandria

Alexandria, VA – Alexandria will continue to take in poor, tired, and huddled masses yearning to breathe free. That’s according to a resolution that the City Council will consider at its meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 22. At issue is whether the city will open its doors to refugees after the recently signed Executive Order 13888, which asks for a “locality’s consent to the resettlement of refugees.”‬

‪“The Administration is attempting to have local governments insert themselves into this process and presumably resist the resettlement of refugees in their communities,” said Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson. “We reject this attempt and reaffirm our intent to continue helping those in need.”

According to the order, within 90 days of the date it was issued (Sept. 26), the Secretary of State and Secretary of Health and Human Services “shall develop and implement a process to determine whether the State and locality both consent, in writing, to the resettlement of refugees within the State and locality, before refugees are resettled within that State and locality under the Program. The Secretary of State shall publicly release any written consents of States and localities to resettlement of refugees.”

Below is the resolution that council will consider: 

In case you missed it during the summer, Wilson joined neighboring localities in decrying the exploration by the government for detention centers for unaccompanied alien children from South America.

SEE: Alexandria Says NO to HHS Request For Unaccompanied Child Shelter