Add-onCITY OF SOUTH MIAMI
City Commission
Philip K. Stoddard, Ph.D, Mayor
Josh liebman, Vice Mayor
Valerie Newman, Commissioner
Commissioner Welsh, Commissioner
Walter A. Harris, Commissioner
Steven Alexander
City Manager
Maria M. Menendez, CMC
City Clerk
Thomas F. Pepe, Esq.
CITY COMMISSION MEETING AGENDA
TUESDAY, MARCH 5, 2013, 7:00 PM
CITY HALL/COMMISSION CHAMBERS
6130 SUNSET DRIVE
SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA
A. ADD-ON ITEM(S)
a) A Resolution adding to and expanding on the elements of comprehensive
immigration reform that the Miami-Dade County Commission supported in
R-l084-12; urging the United States Congress to enact legislation
modernizing the immigration system during the 113th Congress based on
specified principles; supporting the agreement on a framework for
comprehensive immigration reform recently proposed by a bipartisan group
of United States Senators. 3/5
(Commissioner Harris)
6130 Sunset Drive -South Miami, Florida 33143 -305-663-6340 -www.southmiamifl.gov
City Attorney
Page 1
Page 1 of 6
RESOLUTION NO. _________ 1
A Resolution adding to and expanding on the elements of comprehensive 2 immigration reform that the Miami-Dade County Commission supported in 3 R-1084-12; urging the United States Congress to enact legislation 4 modernizing the immigration system during the 113th Congress based on 5 specified principles; supporting the agreement on a framework for 6 comprehensive immigration reform recently proposed by a bipartisan group 7 of United States Senators 8
WHEREAS, on December 18, 2012, the Miami-Dade County Commission (“the 9
Board”) adopted Resolution No. R-1084-12, the co-prime sponsors of which were 10
Commissioners Dennis C. Moss and Jean Monestime, which urged President Barack Obama 11
and the United States Congress to support and enact comprehensive immigration reform during 12
the 113th Congress; and 13
WHEREAS, the Board in R-1084-12 supported the passage of comprehensive 14
immigration reform during the 113th Congress that would include: 15
1. Strengthening border security, 16
2. Imposing penalties for employers that hire undocumented workers and 17
3. Providing a pathway for illegal immigrants already in the United States to gain 18
citizenship; and 19 20
WHEREAS, the Board would like to add to and expand on the elements of 21
comprehensive immigration reform that it supported in R-1084-12 by further supporting the 22
immigration reform proposals being advanced by the Partnership for a New American Economy; 23
and 24
WHEREAS, the Board found that the Partnership for a New American Economy is a 25
bipartisan group of mayors and other elected officials from across the country and business 26
Page 2 of 6
leaders from all sectors of the economy and all 50 states to raise awareness of the economic 1
benefits of sensible immigration reform; and 2
WHEREAS, the Board found that the Partnership for a New American Economy has 3
offered five principles that they consider to be essential to a modem immigration system as the 4
113th Congress takes up the issue of immigration reform: 5
1. Attracting and retaining the world's top innovators and entrepreneurs, 6
including: 7
a. Granting visas to scientists, technology graduates, engineers, 8
mathematicians, and other innovators, especially those who train at top 9
universities in the United States; 10
b. Creating a "Startup Visa" for entrepreneurs who want to come to the United 11
States, start businesses and hire United States workers, especially if they 12
have investors in the United States to back their ideas; 13
c. Expanding the use of the Immigrant Investor Program, also known as the 14
EB-5 investor visa, to draw more foreign direct investment into the United 15
States to spur business growth; 16
2. Recruiting talented workers needed to fill gaps in high- and low-skilled 17
sectors of the economy by: 18
a. Removing rigid quotas for high- and low-skilled workers and replacing 19
them with flexible visa allotments that respond to changes in workforce 20
need; 21
b. Creating a viable guest worker program so that technology companies, 22
farms, hotels, and other industries can more easily find temporary workers 23
to fill specific employment needs; 24
c. Expanding the number of employment-based visas that are issued each year 25
beyond the currently 7 percent of all green cards that are currently given each 26
year for employment based reasons; 27
3. Bringing the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants into the legal 28
economy so they can pay taxes, attain better education, and contribute more 29
to US economic growth by: 30
31
Page 3 of 6
a. Providing a path to work legally, pay taxes, and contribute to the economy 1
for undocumented workers in the country; 2
3
4. Developing a state-of-the-art system to ensure immigration laws are 4
enforced and obeyed by: 5
a. Monitoring who is in our country after they cross the border or land at port 6
of entry, as well as who leaves the United States; 7
b. Ensuring that workplaces obey the laws and only hire legal workers; 8
5. Ensuring that the immigration system is easy to understand, easy to navigate 9
and easy to implement by ensuring that: 10
a. Tourist and employment visa applicants interact with no more than one 11
agency to obtain a visa; 12
b. Employers who have successfully hired foreign workers in the past be 13
provided a fast track to processing rather than having to prove their 14
eligibility each and every time; 15
c. Visa applications are processed quickly and without undue expense; and 16
WHEREAS, the City Commission would like to add to and expand on the elements of 17
the comprehensive immigration reform that the County supported in R-1084-12 by 18
incorporating into the immigration proposals of the Partnership for a New American Economy 19
set forth above; and 20
WHEREAS, in addition, since the time that the Board passed R-1084-12, a group of 21
bipartisan Senators have reached agreement on a framework for comprehensive immigration 22
reform that largely matches the principles being advanced by the Partnership for a New 23
American Economy; and 24
WHEREAS, these Senators consist of Senators Charles Schumer (D — New York), John 25
McCain (R — Arizona), Dick Durbin (D Illinois), Lindsey Graham (R — South Carolina), Bob 26
Menendez (D — New Jersey), Marco Rubio (R — Florida), Michael Bennet (D — Colorado) 27
and Jeff Flake (R — Arizona); and 28
Page 4 of 6
WHEREAS, the Board found that this framework consists of the following four proposals: 1
1. Creating a tough but fair path to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants 2
currently living in the United States that is contingent upon securing our borders 3
and tracking whether legal immigrants have left the country when required; 4
2. Reforming our legal immigration system to better recognize the importance of 5
characteristics that will help build the American economy and strengthen 6
American families; 7
3. Creating an effective employment verification system that will prevent identity 8
theft and end the hiring of future unauthorized workers; 9
4. Establishing an improved process for admitting future workers to serve our 10
nation's workforce needs, while simultaneously protecting all workers; and 11
WHEREAS, the City Commission would like to support the framework for immigration 12
reform this group of bipartisan Senators has proposed; and 13
WHEREAS, the City Commission would like to add the following recitals: 14
1. We believe in the human dignity of all Miami-Dade County residents, 15
regardless of immigration status; and 16
2. Countless people are lost in a federal immigration and detention system that 17
has become fundamentally broken and plagued by abuse; and 18
3. Record increases of deportations in recent years have tragically broken apart 19
loving families, with over 800,000 people deported in just two years, many of 20
them parents of United States citizen children, also causing thousands of those 21
children to be pushed into the foster care system at risk of permanent legal 22
separation from their parents; and 23
4. In the absence of federal legislative action on immigration, state legislative 24
proposals that are anti-immigrant and even unconstitutional have created a 25
persistent distraction from other important matters of governance in Florida 26
and many other states. 27
28
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND THE CITY 29
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA: 30
31
Section 1. The City of South Miami adopts, by reference, Miami-Dade County’s R-32
1084-12 and adds to and expands on the elements of Miami-Dade County Commission’s 33
comprehensive immigration reform the Miami-Dade County Commission supported in R-1084-34
12 and urges the United States Congress to enact legislation modernizing the immigration system 35
Page 5 of 6
during the 113th Congress that incorporates the following reforms as more fully set forth in the 1
whereas clauses above: 2
1. Attracting and retaining the world's top innovators and entrepreneurs; 3
2. Recruiting talented workers needed to fill gaps in high- and low-skilled sectors of 4
the economy; 5
3. Bringing the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants into the legal 6
economy so they can pay taxes, attain better education and contribute more to US 7
economic growth; 8
4. Developing a state-of-the-art system to ensure immigration laws are enforced and 9
obeyed; and 10
5. Ensuring that the immigration system is easy to understand, easy to navigate and 11
easy to implement. 12
Section 2. The City supports the framework for comprehensive immigration reform being 13
proposed by a bipartisan group of United State Senators as set forth in the whereas clauses 14
above. 15
Section 3. The City Clerk is hereby directed to transmit a certified copy of this resolution 16
to Senator Charles Schumer, Senator John McCain, Senator Dick Durbin, Senator Lindsey 17
Graham, Senator Bob Menendez, Senator Marco Rubio, Senator Michael Bennet, Senator Jeff 18
Flake, the Members of the Florida Congressional Delegation and the Secretary of the United 19
States Department of Homeland Security. 20
Section 4. The City's lobbyist is hereby directed to advocate for the action set forth in 21
Sections 1 and 2 above, and to advocate that the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs include this 22
item in the 2013 and 2014 Federal Legislative Packages. 23
Section 5. Severability. If any section clause, sentence, or phrase of this resolution is for 24
any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, the holding shall 25
not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this resolution. 26
Section 6. Effective Date. This resolution shall become effective immediately upon 27
Page 6 of 6
adoption by vote of the City Commission. 1
PASSED AND ADOPTED this ____ day of _____________, 2013. 2
3
4
ATTEST: APPROVED: 5
6
7
_____________________ ______________________ 8
CITY CLERK MAYOR 9
10
READ AND APPROVED AS TO FORM, COMMISSION VOTE: 11
LANGUAGE, LEGALITY AND Mayor Stoddard: 12
EXECUTION THEREOF Vice Mayor Liebman: 13
Commissioner Newman: 14
_____________________________ Commissioner Harris: 15
CITY ATTORNEY Commissioner Welsh: 16