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Welcoming City Update Resolution April 17, 2017 WHEREAS, Charlottesville Cit y C ounc i l pass ed a Welcomi ng C it y Proclamati on on Octob er 5, 2015, and WHEREAS, the rec ent executive acti ons and immigration enforcem ent an nouncements by t he administrati on, pa i re d wit h intimidati ng and divisive statements, have created a climate of f ear , rum or and distru st o f f ederal , st ate a nd l oca l g overnments, and WHEREAS, Charlottesville Cit y C ounc i l seeks to addres s t his climate of fea r by pr ovidi ng a positive statem ent of ou r v al ues and ac ti ons t o a communit y se ek i ng r eassuranc e, B E I T T HEREFORE RESOLVED, the Cit y of C har lottesville embraces the values of a We lcomi ng C ity, and we st and fo r t he principl e tha t a l l m embers of t hi s communit y ar e our ne ighbors and deserve trus t and protecti on, and tha t t hose v alues should be embodi ed b y our publ ic safety, law enforcem ent a nd social services professional s, and B E I T FU RTH ER R ESOLVED, t he Cit y Counci l upholds Attor ney Gener al Mar k Herring’s January 2015 conclusion th at localiti es i n Virginia c an and m ust hav e discretion when faced wit h federal m andat es r egardi ng i mmigration issues, an d B E I T FU RTH ER R ESOLVED, a s a locality, we have limit ed publi c resource s, both in terms of s taf f a nd f unds, fo r pub li c sa fety, la w enf orcement, and socia l s ervices, and we believe t hat our p rofessionals should empl oy t hose limited resourc es to mee t t hei r ob ligations unde r l oca l and stat e law and t o serve all t he members of ou r com munity, consisten t w it h the val ues of a Welcomi ng C ity, and B E I T FU RTH ER R ESOLVED, i n se r vi ce o f pr ovidin g vulnerabl e populations with information about thei r right s and resourc es a vailable to th em i n our Welcomi ng ci ty, we reque st tha t t he Office of H uman Rights prepare, promulgat e and maintain a research guide on thes e topics fo r the public, a nd t o wor k w i th appropriate partners in our government and our community to ensure that these populations have access to the guide and underlying resources, NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that whereas public safety is a paramount mission of local government, that we defer to the considered judgment of our law enforcement and public safety professionals that the limited and welcoming approach to immigration questions they currently employ, which emphasizes local discretion and the maintenance of trust between residents and our public safety professionals, is our best option for maintaining security in our local community . Approved by Council April 17, 2017