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Home , Alan Webber, Andy Schor, Darrell Steinberg, David Holt (politician), Greg Fischer, Keisha Lance Bottoms

July 2, 2018

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE AND THE CONGRESS FROM THE NATION’S MAYORS CALLING FOR THE IMMEDIATE REUNIFICATION OF IMMIGRANT CHILDREN WITH THEIR FAMILIES

Dear Mr. President and Members of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate:

We write to stand in solidarity with the 18 mayors who travelled to Tornillo, on June 21 to see firsthand the conditions there in the tent city housing several hundred unaccompanied immigrant children. Unfortunately, federal authorities denied the mayors admission to the facility, just as they had other elected officials at this and other detention facilities.

The mayors who came to Tornillo were Democrats and Republicans, from cities large and small across the country. They were united in their call for the Administration to return as quickly as possible the thousands of children separated from their parents as a result of the Administration’s Policy. The mayors also called for a policy of transparency that would allow elected officials and the public to know what is happening in these facilities and what the process will be for reuniting children with their families.

The mayors assembled in Tornillo at the invitation of The U.S. Conference of Mayors, an organization which, a week earlier, had unanimously adopted a resolution urging the Administration to immediately reverse the policy of separating children from their parents at the border and allow apprehended families to remain together to the extent possible.

As mayors, we see firsthand, every day, the positive impact that immigrants have on our communities. They contribute in countless ways to our economic and cultural strength. But we also see the impact that our nation's broken immigration system - and the policies stemming from it - are having on our cities. This broken system creates fear and uncertainty, which has a detrimental effect on the safety, health and wellbeing of our residents.

The nation’s mayors, therefore, call on the Administration to:

• Move quickly and openly to return separated children to their parents; and • Provide local and state leaders full access to and information regarding children separated from their parents who have been sent to their jurisdictions and regions so that they can help to make sure these children are getting the services they need.

Further, we call on Congress to:

• Enact whatever legislation is needed to make sure that separated children and their parents can be quickly reunited, and include safeguards to ensure that family separation never again plays a part in our nation’s immigration policy; and • Enact a permanent solution to this and other immigration problems by developing and passing bipartisan legislation that will fix our nation's broken immigration system.

Sincerely,

Stephen K. Benjamin Bryan K. Barnett Mayor of Columbia, SC Mayor of Rochester Hills Mayor of Louisville President Vice President Second Vice President

Elizabeth B. Kautz Tom Cochran Mayor of Burnsville CEO and Executive Director Past President

Mayor Mayor Alan L. Nagy Mayor Patrick J. Furey Mesa, AZ Newark, CA Torrance, CA

Mayor Mark W. Mitchell Mayor Josh Fryday Mayor John J. Duran Tempe. AZ Novato, CA West Hollywood, CA

Mayor Jonathan Rothschild Mayor Mayor Christopher L. Cabaldon Tucson, AZ Oakland, CA West Sacramento, CA

Mayor Lioneld Jordan Mayor Michael M. Vargas Mayor Suzanne 'Zan' Jones Fayetteville, AR Perris, CA Boulder, CO

Mayor Tom Tait Mayor Thomas K. Butt Mayor Michael B. Hancock Anaheim, CA Richmond, CA , CO

Mayor Mary Casillas Salas Mayor Mayor Chula Vista, CA Sacramento, CA Bridgeport, CT

Mayor John J Bauters Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer Mayor Emeryville, CA , CA Hartford, CT

Mayor Catherine S. Blakespear Mayor Mayor Toni N. Harp Encinitas, CA San Jose, CA New Haven, CT

Mayor Sam Hindi Mayor Pauline Russo Cutter Mayor Harry Rilling Foster City, CA San Leandro, CA Norwalk, CT

Mayor Lily Mei Mayor Lisa M. Gillmor Mayor Shari Cantor Fremont, CA Santa Clara, CA West Hartford, CT

Mayor Robert Garcia Mayor David Terrazas Mayor Long Beach, CA Santa Cruz, CA Washington, DC

Mayor Mayor Michael D. Tubbs Mayor Peter Simmons , CA Stockton, CA Bonita Springs, FL

Mayor Leonard Siegel Mayor Glenn Hendricks Mayor Joe Coviello Mountain View, CA Sunnyvale, CA Cape Coral, FL

Mayor Derrick L. Henry Mayor Thomas Broderick Jr. Mayor Daytona Beach, FL Anderson, IN , MN

Mayor Francis X. Suarez Mayor Thomas 'Tom' C. Henry Mayor Ardell F. Brede , FL Fort Wayne, IN Rochester, MN

Mayor Oliver G. Gilbert III Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson Mayor Melvin Carter Miami Gardens, FL Gary, IN St. Paul, MN

Mayor Buddy Dyer Mayor Mayor Sylvester 'Sly' James Jr. Orlando, FL South Bend, IN Kansas City, MO

Mayor Frank C. Ortis Mayor Mayor Lyda Krewson Pembroke Pines, FL Baton Rouge, LY St. Louis, MO

Mayor Gregory J. Oravec Mayor LaToya Cantrell Mayor Debra March Port St. Lucie, FL , LA Henderson, NV

Mayor Andrew D. Gillum Mayor Patrick L. Wojahn Mayor Hillary Schieve Tallahassee, FL College Park, MD Reno, NV

Mayor Bob Buckhorn Mayor Jeffrey Z. Slavin Mayor Mark J. Sokolich Tampa, FL Somerset, MD Fort Lee, NJ

Mayor Mayor Martin J. Walsh Mayor Alberto G. Santos , GA , MA Kearny, NJ

Mayor Hardie Davis Jr. Mayor Yvonne M. Spicer Mayor Adrian O. Mapp Augusta, GA Framingham, MA Plainfield, NJ

Mayor Teresa Pike Tomlinson Mayor Alex B. Morse III Mayor Liz Lempert Columbus, GA Holyoke, MA Princeton, NJ

Mayor Robert A.B. Reichert Mayor Ruthanne Fuller Mayor Macon, GA Newton, MA Albuquerque, NM

Mayor David H. Bieter Mayor Mayor Kenneth D. Miyagishima Boise, ID , MI Las Cruces, NM

Mayor Tari Renner Mayor Mayor Bloomington, IL Lansing, MI Santa Fe, NM

Mayor Rahm Emanuel Mayor Kurt R Metzger Mayor Kathy M. Sheehan , IL Pleasant Ridge MI Albany, NY

Mayor Stephen H. Hagerty Mayor William R. Wild Mayor William W. Moehle Evanston, IL Westland, MI Brighton, NY

Mayor Nancy Rodkin Rotering Mayor James B. Hovland Mayor Byron W. Brown Highland Park, IL Edina, MN Buffalo, NY

Mayor Noam Bramson Mayor David J. Berger Mayor Dee Margo New Rochelle, NY Lima, OH El Paso, TX

Mayor Mayor Mayor , NY City, OK , TX

Mayor Gary R. McCarthy Mayor Denny Doyle Mayor Schenectady, NY Beaverton, OR , TX

Mayor Lydia Lavelle Mayor Mayor John Thomaides Carrboro, NC Portland, OR San Marcos, TX

Mayor Steve Schewel Mayor Salvatore J. Panto Jr. Mayor Allison Silberberg Durham, NC Easton, PA Alexandria, VA

Mayor Nancy Barakat Vaughan Mayor Don M. Hahn Mayor McKinley L. Price DDS Greensboro, NC State College, PA Newport News, VA

Mayor Dontario 'Don' Hardy Mayor James A. Diossa Mayor Jimmy Matta Kinston, NC Central Falls, RI Burien, WA

Mayor Al Heggins Mayor Jorge O. Elorza Mayor Cheryl L. Selby Salisbury, NC Providence, RI Olympia, WA

Mayor John Cranley Mayor Kim McMillan Mayor John Marchione Cincinnati, OH Clarksville, TN Redmond, WA

Mayor Frank G. Jackson Mayor Madeline Anne Rogero Mayor Jenny A. Durkan Cleveland, OH Knoxville, TN , WA

Mayor Andrew J. Ginther Mayor Jim Strickland Mayor Victoria Woodards Columbus, OH Memphis, TN Tacoma, WA

Mayor Nan Whaley Mayor David Briley Mayor Allan Ekberg Dayton, OH Nashville, TN Tukwila, WA

Mayor Lydia L. Mihalik Mayor Mayor Steve Williams Findlay, OH Austin, TX Huntington, WV

Mayor Michael P. Summers Mayor Mike Rawlings Mayor Paul R. Soglin Lakewood, OH , TX Madison, WI