Seattle City Council 5/3/2021

We are recording.

Thank you so much, son.

The May 3rd, 2021 meeting of the Seattle City Council will come to order.

It is 2.02 PM.

I'm Lorena Gonzalez, President of the Council.

Will the clerk please call the roll?

Morales.

Here.

Mosqueda.

Present.

Peterson.

Here.

Sawant.

Present.

Strauss.

Present.

Herbal.

I'm not aware of any presentations, so we'll move to approval of the minutes.

The minutes of the City Council meetings of April 26, 2021 have been reviewed.

If there's no objection, the minutes will be signed.

Hearing no objection, the minutes are being signed.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the minutes?

If there is no objection, the introduction and referral calendar will be adopted.

Hearing no objection, the introduction and referral calendar is adopted.

If there is no objection, the agenda will be adopted.

Hearing no objection, the agenda is adopted.

Colleagues, at this time, we will open the remote public comment period for items on the city council agenda introduction and referral calendar and the council's work program.

I want to thank everyone for their ongoing patience and cooperation as we continue to operate this remote public It remains the strong intent of the City Council to have remote public comment regularly included on meeting agendas.

However, as a reminder, the City Council reserves the right to end or eliminate these public comment periods at any point if we deem that the system is being abused or is no longer suitable for allowing our meetings to be conducted efficiently and effectively.

I will moderate the public comment period in the following manner.

Today's public comment period is 20 minutes, and each speaker will have two minutes to speak This is different than the general meeting listen line call in information.

Again, I will call on each speaker by name and in the order in which they registered on the council's website.

If you've not yet registered to speak but would like to, you can still sign up before the end of today's public comment.

You can do that by going to the council's website at seattle.gov forward slash council.

The public comment link is also listed on today's published agenda.

Once I call your name, staff will unmute your microphone and you will hear the automatic prompt of you have been unmuted.

That'll be your cue that it is your turn to speak, but before you begin to speak, you must press star six in order to unmute yourself.

I'd ask that you start by telling us your name, the item that you are addressing, and again, as a reminder, public comment should relate to an item on today's agenda, the introduction and referral calendar, or the council's work program.

Speakers will hear a chime when you have 10 seconds left of your two minutes.

Once you hear the chime, please begin to wrap up your public comment.

If you don't wrap up your comments at the end of the two minutes, then your microphone will be muted to allow me to call on the next speaker.

Once you've completed your public comment, we ask that you please disconnect from the line, and if you plan to continue following this meeting, you can do so via Seattle Channel or the listening options listed on the agenda.

Public comment period is now open, and we're going to begin with the first speaker on the list.

Again, once I call your name and you hear the automatic prompt, don't forget to press star six after you hear the prompt.

You have been unmuted.

So first up is Howard Gale.

Next after Howard is Marissa Parshatan.

Howard, welcome.

Good afternoon.

Howard Gale, District 7, commenting on continuing police abuse and failed police accountability.

We are weeks away from the one-year anniversary of George Floyd, nearly a year after the police in Seattle unleashed violence, false arrest, and gross violations of people's First Amendment rights upon the very people who pay them to protect and serve.

What has resulted from the many thousands of complaints about police abuse and violence?

This is a question that the Public Safety Committee and the Council as a whole has simply ignored or forgotten.

As of last Friday, the Office of Police Accountability has found a total of only 17 complaints out of many thousands to be partially or totally sustained of those seventy complaints twelve officers received reprimands one officer received a two-day suspension and four are still pending discipline this along with the opiates repeated approval of spd murders is far more than sufficient evidence that our accountability system is not working the council's unquestioned belief that our accountability system works has only produced more police abuse less accountability, and promises even more abuse in the months ahead.

We need full civilian control of police oversight, moving beyond Seattle's existing system of police investigating police.

We have full civilian control in places like Nashville, Oakland, Portland, Oregon, and other cities.

If the council remains unmovable on this fundamental issue of justice, The people of Seattle will take control of this issue back from the council.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up is Marissa followed by Ninal Ghassemi.

Hi my name is Marissa.

Hi, my name is Marisa.

I'm a One America staff reading testimony on behalf of one of our grassroots leaders addressing Resolution 32005. So hi, my name is Elizabeth Ruiz.

I am a volunteer and grassroots leader with One America since 2009. At our organization, leaders like myself are advocates for our immigrant and refugee communities.

I am an immigrant from Mexico.

I came to the US over 20 years ago.

Although I don't have legal status I strive to be a good member of my community.

I volunteered at my church and my children's schools.

I am fortunate to be able to understand English which helped me navigate the system and I use this skill to help my community.

At this time I have experienced systemic racism discrimination and racial profiling both of lack of legal status and after I was able to secure my stay in the U.S.

I have been called illegal and I have been incarcerated at the Northwest Detention Center for two months.

This was a time full of fear and uncertainty for myself and my family because I was separated from them.

My husband and my two small children didn't know if I could ever go back to them.

I am speaking today on behalf of all immigrants who like myself would like an opportunity to prove they are hardworking and compassionate people who want to move forward in life.

People who want to feel like they belong after many years living in this country.

Immigration reform is the right thing to do and I am grateful to the Seattle City Council for their efforts and their desire to take action.

Our communities are at risk and now is the time to act.

Thank you.

Thank you Marissa for calling in.

Next up is Minal followed by Carlos Martinez.

Good afternoon.

Good afternoon.

This is Minal Agustinier.

I'm a board member at One America and I am providing comments to Resolution 32005 speaking on behalf of one of our grassroots leaders Adrian Hernandez Jimenez.

I'm a grassroots leader with One America.

I'm also a Seattleite and proud daughter of immigrants.

A pathway to citizenship is so important and far overdue because immigrants have been facing various struggles for many years now.

So what would a pathway to citizenship mean to me my family and my community.

A pathway to citizenship for my parents would put me at ease.

I would lose the fear of my parents ever being deported leaving my siblings and I behind.

It would mean them getting better opportunities and having a bigger range of jobs available to them.

And something that I hold close to my heart is that they would be able to travel outside of the country with me and come back with ease.

I remember the first time I was away from home.

It was fifth grade.

I went on a school trip for five days.

Once I came home, I hugged my parents so tight because I missed them.

The longest I've been away from home is only two weeks.

While my dad has been apart from his mom for 17 years, I can't imagine being away from my parents for that long.

The closest thing my dad has to being with her is a video call through the phone, and he misses her a lot.

Every holiday, every birthday, every Mother's Day, he thinks of her.

A pathway to citizenship would provide not only my dad, but so many immigrants who have families in their home countries that she hopes to reunite.

Seattle City Council members, thank you for understanding that our communities cannot wait any longer.

Now we need President Biden and the rest of Congress to step up.

The time to act is right now.

Thank you.

Thank you, Minal.

Thanks for calling in.

Next up is Carlos Martinez, followed by Roxanna Neruzzi.

And Carlos, if you're with us, you need to press star six so we can hear you.

Hi.

Hi.

Good afternoon.

My name is Carlos Martinez.

I am a One America staffer, and I will be reading a testimony on behalf of our grassroots leader named Abril Martinez-Rodriguez for Resolution 32005. Good afternoon, city council members.

My name is Abril Martinez-Rodriguez, and I am currently a student at Western Washington University.

While I do not refer to myself exclusively as American, the U.S. has been my home since 2005. My parents came to this country with the desire of giving me a higher standard of living and escaped the social turmoil in our homeland.

Gaining DACA status five years ago was a sigh of relief at a moment where the elected president was instilling so much fear into the undocumented community, my community.

Now that I am in college, I am looking into what I would like to do in the future.

This relief is no longer there.

And again, I am filled with worry.

Will my status always be in limbo?

My vision is that Congress work together to provide a pathway to citizenship for all undocumented individuals in this country.

We have heard enough promises.

We want actions.

I do appreciate the Seattle City Council highlighting the urgency of this matter.

Now I would like to see us work together towards an inclusive and unbiased immigration system where people like me feel safe and like we belong.

Thank you.

Thank you so much for calling in today.

Next up is Roxanna.

Roxanna, welcome.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Hello, everyone.

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Roxanna Neruzzi, and I'm the deputy director at One America, and I'm here today in support of Resolution 32005. Thank you to Council Member Gonzalez and all the other council members for your leadership on behalf of immigrant communities and sponsoring this important resolution.

One America is the largest immigrant and refugee advocacy organization in Washington State.

And I personally am the daughter of immigrants from Iran who were lucky enough to come here during a time when my parents had access to a pathway to citizenship almost 40 years ago.

as well as the opportunity to rebuild our lives in the U.S.

As you've already heard from these past testimonies from our immigrant leaders, our communities have waited way too long.

Immigrant communities and communities of color made immigration reform possible because we rose up in the 2020 elections and built our movements for decades before that.

We helped put Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the White House We took control of the Senate, and we made impact on local and municipal level elections as well.

Yet we see our elected officials, particularly in the White House and in Congress, hesitate.

We've been told that we must wait, that our government will do the right thing.

Our communities continue to be excluded, demeaned, and still to this day continue to live in fear.

We see our leaders rise to the challenge every time, and it is time for elected officials like all of you here today to do the same.

The time is now and I'm glad to see the Seattle City Council acknowledging and acting on the urgency of this moment which will be a model for cities to demand immediate action by Congress to pass a pathway to citizenship for the many undocumented people in this country.

We must reject attempts to compromise the safety and security of our community members.

We must work together towards a vision of an immigration system that is welcoming that is inclusive and one that is truly just.

Thank you.

Thank you, Roxanna for calling in today.

Okay, colleagues.

Bear with me here.

Okay, so for the benefit of the next public speaker, I am going to transition into speaking to speaking in Spanish so that she understands what she needs to do in order for us to hear from her.

Okay, para el beneficio para la próxima persona voy a hablar en español.

Sigue Leti Rivera y su intérprete que es Cariño Barragan.

Y Leti, si estás con nosotros, tienes que oprimir estrella seis para poder escucharte después de que escuches el mensaje diciéndote que ya puedes hablar en vivo.

Leti, ¿estás con nosotros?

Hi.

Cariño, you're here, yes?

I'm here.

Can you hear me?

I can hear you.

We're just looking for Leti.

Leti, if you're with us, just press your phone on the star 6 key.

Leti, can you hear us?

Hello.

I can hear you.

We can hear you.

Thank you, Leti.

Okay.

Go ahead, please.

Thank you.

Good afternoon, everyone.

My name is Leti.

I am a community leader of WISON, the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network, a state network of more than 350 organizations that work to improve the conditions of immigrants in this state.

También soy directora de comunidades en fronteras Washington.

Soy especialista en participación comunitaria en el condado de Grant por caridades católicas y la coordinadora del grupo de prevención del suicidio en el condado de Grant.

Después de servir a la comunidad de trabajadores de campo por 12 años y de conocer bien las necesidades de todos ellos, me animo a venir con ustedes ahora para decir que es realmente importante ofrecer una reforma migratoria que les de dignidad y respeto a mis compañeros inmigrantes indocumentados porque se lo merecen.

Las personas que trabajan en el campo son olvidadas porque no están presentes en estas reuniones exigiendo ellos mismos lo que se merecen.

Los trabajadores hacen que esta nación sea próspera.

Trabajan muchas horas sin importar las inclemencias del tiempo.

Tenemos comida por su gran esfuerzo y no es justo que vivan con miedo por su estatus.

Cada vez que votamos lo hacemos con la esperanza de que por fin haya una reforma migratoria.

Lamentablemente todavía no ha llegado ese día.

Hoy es el día, es el momento preciso para hacerlo.

Se tiene que ofrecer una situación legal para que los trabajadores puedan vivir con respeto y dignidad.

Por esto estoy aquí para pedirles su apoyo en esta resolución para que actúen a favor de la resolución I'm a community leader for WISEN, the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network, a statewide network of more than 350 organizations working to improve conditions for immigrants in this state.

I'm also Director of Communities Without Borders Washington, Grant County Community Engagement Specialist for Catholic Charities, serving Central Washington, and Coordinator of the Suicide Prevention Group.

After serving the farm worker community for more than 12 years and having a good understanding of their needs, I am encouraged to come here to say that it is really important to offer immigration reform that gives dignity and respect to my fellow undocumented immigrants, because they deserve it.

The people who work in the fields are forgotten because they are not present at these meetings, demanding for themselves what they deserve.

Workers make this nation prosperous, working long hours regardless of the weather.

We have food every day due to their great effort, and it is not fair that they have to live in fear due to their status.

Every time we vote, we do so in the hopes that there will finally be immigration reform.

Unfortunately, that day has not yet arrived.

Today, this is the right time to do it.

A way to legalize has to be provided so that workers can live with respect and dignity.

That is why I'm here to ask for your support in this resolution and act in favor of the resolution to the U.S.

Congress on Immigration Reform.

Thank you so much.

All right, folks, we're gonna move now to our next speaker, who is Brenda Rodriguez, followed by David Haynes.

Good afternoon, council members.

My name is Brenda Rodriguez Lopez, undocumented and unashamed.

I am the director of the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network, a powerful undocumented-led network of over 350 organizations across 22 counties, organizing to transform the state of Washington into a place immigrants and refugees can thrive.

I am here today representing my farm working family who has called Washington State home for almost two decades and continues to live with uncertainty.

My family has worked tirelessly to feed this country with often not enough food to feed themselves.

We have been terrorized by the deportation machines constant threat of being separated.

We have painfully witnessed our livelihoods be bargained away by Congress and being failed over and over again.

But today is a new day, one with hope under the Biden administration, and it is also time for accountability.

My family and community need to act now.

I am glad to see the Seattle City Council take leadership and act on the urgency of this moment.

I also call on city councils across the state of Washington to step up in their leadership and pass a resolution that calls for a pathway to citizenship for all.

It is time for immigrant families like mine across the state to feel seen and supported by those that represent them.

The time is now for President Biden to fulfill his promise on a pathway to citizenship.

Thank you for sending this message to Congress with this resolution.

Thank you, Brenda, for calling in today.

Last is David Haynes.

Thank you.

I hate to say this, but the homeless crisis is directly correlated to the open border sanctuary policies of Seattle Council and the liberal Democrats who bring as many foreign-born people to take somebody else's home and job off the market, making the bank donors and middleman owners happy while never being required to build enough are the same amount of homes that are taken off the market by non-citizens to offset the oppressive supply and demand squeeze of outdated, obsolete, rundown housing choices.

Democrats seem to care more about intercepting the capital gains stolen from the workforce than redirecting the capital gains back into the wallets of the workforce, oppressed by non-working middlemen shareholders every three months.

while the supply and demand squeeze proliferates homelessness and desperate room share situations and oppressive living conditions.

And yet the city council wants to support another foreign born congressional representative who's financed by foreign donors, who's trying to conduct a race war on innocent white citizens overthrown by policies that do the bidding of foreign donors guaranteeing that one America a racist, power-mongering nonprofit who pays off organizers and activists to manipulate the media, further oppressing innocent citizens being sold out by Democrats in the City Council who have already imploded society, aiding and abetting foreign and domestic crack, meth, and heroin pushers, destroying lives daily, listed non-violent as City Council expands to re-election apparatus, hiding within unqualified wraparound services specifically for repeat offenders.

while allowing cops to conduct a war on the homeless caused by a lack of homes given to illegal aliens financed by city council to ensure a middle-class lifestyle at expense of nation.

We need investigations of social welfare and non-profit donors conducting a treasonous unconstitutional race war on local citizens justifying a right to bear arms.

Okay, that is the last speaker I have signed up on my end, so we are going to go ahead and close out the period of public comment and move to other items of business on our agenda.

First up is payment of the bills.

Will the clerk please read the title?

Payment of bills, Council Bill 120060, an ordinance appropriating money to pay certain audited claims for the week of April 19th, 2021 through April 23rd, 2021 and ordering the payment thereof.

Thank you so much.

I move to pass Council Bill 12060. Is there a second?

Second.

It's been moved and seconded that the bill pass.

Are there any comments?

Hearing no comments, will the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill?

Morales?

Yes.

Mosqueda?

Yes.

Peterson?

Yes.

Sawant?

Yes.

Strauss?

Yes.

Herbold?

Yes.

Juarez?

Aye.

And Council President Gonzalez?

Aye.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

The bill passes and the chair will sign it.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf?

Okay, will the clerk please read item one into the record?

Report of the city council agenda item one, resolution 32003, a resolution retiring introduced and referred council bills, resolutions, clerk files, and appointments that have received no further action.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

I move to adopt resolution 32003. Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you so much.

It's been moved and seconded to adopt resolution 32003. I am the sponsor of this item, so I will address it, and then I'm happy to open the floor for additional comments.

Colleagues, as I stated this morning during council briefing, resolution 32003 is legislation retiring introduced and referred council bills, resolutions, clerk files, and appointments that have received no further action.

This is a routine parliamentary action which occurs in accordance with the general rules and procedures of the Seattle City Council to retire legislation that has been introduced and referred but not acted upon by the council.

Each committee chair has been consulted on this process in order to ensure only legislation appropriate for retirement is included in this resolution.

I'm happy to answer any questions or hear any additional comments.

Hearing no additional comments, will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of the resolution?

Morales?

Yes.

Mosqueda?

Aye.

Peterson?

Aye.

Sawant?

Yes.

Strauss?

Yes.

Herbold?

Yes.

Juarez?

Aye.

And Council President Gonzalez?

Aye.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

The motion carries.

The resolution is adopted and the chair will sign it.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf?

All right.

Will the clerk please read item two into the record?

Agenda item two, Council Bill 120037. An ordinance relating to the AIDS Memorial Pathway Project, authorizing the Director of the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture on behalf of the City of Seattle to accept a license agreement for the installation and maintenance of artworks that are part of the City of Seattle's Municipal Art Collection on property owned by Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

I move to pass Council Bill 120037. Is there a second?

Councilmember Morales, this is your primary sponsored bill so I will hand it over to you to provide the committee's report.

We are now at the point of installation of this project.

And so as the clerk said this is a to establish an agreement to allow this project to be installed at the Capitol Hill light rail station.

In the last few months.

So the AIDS Memorial Pathway is a community-driven, community-funded project to use public art as a physical space to tell the story of the AIDS crisis and includes a civic call to action through engagement, reflection, and remembrance.

For those of you who have been through the Capitol Hill area in the last few months, a few of the installations are up already, including Stormy Webber's In This Way We Loved One Another, which is inside Community Roots Housing Station House.

And this is a tribute to the missing narratives of women and black people who lost, who we've lost to the AIDS crisis.

And then just last month, Cruz installed one of three groups of statues called We're Already Here around Cal Anderson Park.

And these statues resemble protest signs that evoke the historic moments of public convergence.

And the That project will also be, the final piece of that installation will happen in the next couple of months.

And the idea is to finish this project by June in time for Pride so that the piece will be completed by then.

And so this council bill, again, is just to confirm that there is an agreement to install the next piece at the light rail station.

And I move adoption.

Thank you so much, Council Member Morales, for that description of this really important project.

Are there any additional comments on this bill?

All right, looks like there are no additional comments on the bill, so I'm going to ask that the clerk please call the roll on the passage of the bill.

Morales?

Yes.

Mosqueda?

Aye.

Peterson?

Aye.

Sawant?

Yes.

Council President Gonzalez.

Agenda Items 3-7 Appointments 1860-1861 and 1863-1865.

The appointments of Rick Aralusi and Ebony Arunga as members Seattle Arts Commission for terms to December 31st 2022. And the reappointment of James Miles Sarawolke and Mikkel Mee Williams as members Seattle Arts Commission for terms to December 31st 2022.

Thank you so much, Madam Clerk.

I move to confirm appointments 1860, 1861, and 1863 through 1865. Is there a second?

Second.

It's been moved and seconded to confirm the appointments.

I'm going to hand it back over to you, Council Member Morales, to walk us through these items.

Thank you.

Well, I'll just speak briefly to the first two since they are not reappointments.

And so first we have Rick Araluce, who is an artist.

He's been drawing, painting, and making things since before he can remember.

Rick is an immersive multimedia artist and does installations of all sizes.

and has been a recipient of numerous awards and grants, including the Pollack-Krasner in 2009, Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Award in 2010, and a 2015 Guggenheim Fellowship.

He is, this is a mayoral appointment with a term through December 2022. And then Ebony Arunka is an arts manager, advocate and entrepreneur.

She was born in Cosumo, Kenya and raised in a historically black central district of Seattle as part of a multifaceted artistic family.

In 2008, she graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a BFA in theater stage management.

And I will say has some really, really beautiful artwork on her website.

Seaweed International, very stunning art from Kenya.

Ebony is also a mayoral appointment for a term through December 2022. The rest of the appointments to the art commission are reappointments.

Excellent, thank you so much.

Are there any additional comments on these appointments?

Hearing no additional comments, will the clerk please call the roll on the confirmation of the appointments?

Morales.

Yes.

Mosqueda.

Aye.

Peterson.

Aye.

Sawant.

Yes.

Strauss.

Yes.

Herbold.

Yes.

Juarez.

Aye.

And Council President Gonzalez.

Aye.

Eight in favor and opposed.

The motion carries.

Any appointments are confirmed.

Will the clerk please read items eight through 10 into the record.

Agenda items 8 through 10 appointments 1862, 1866, and 1870. The appointments of Cassie Chen and Cesar A. Garcia Garcia as members Equitable Development Initiative Advisory Board for terms to February 28, 2022. And the appointment of Evelyn Thomas Allen as member Equity Equitable Development Initiative Advisory Board for a term to February 28, 2023.

Thank you so much, Madam Clerk.

I move to confirm appointments 1862, 1866 and 1870. Is there a second?

Second.

It's been moved and seconded to confirm the appointments.

I'm going to hand it back over to Council Member Morales to walk us through these appointments as well.

Thank you.

So beginning with Cassie Chin, Cassie is the Deputy Director at the Wing Luke Museum.

If any of you have been through there, I'm sure you've seen her and seen the fantastic job she does helping keep that organization going.

Cassie also does serve on the Seattle Arts Commission with the Facilities and Economic Development Committee and has really been instrumental in helping to think through how to set up the new cultural space PDA that we've talked about.

before.

Evelyn Allen is the ED of the Equity Alliance and has been very involved in some of the work that's happening down in Rainier Beach trying to increase housing and commercial development that's really focused on communities of color down there.

And then Cesar Garcia is a co-founder of the Lake City Collective and a graduate of the Puget Sound SAGE Community Real Estate Stewardship Team, C.R.E.S.T., which is a really innovative program that is working to educate community members who are involved in real estate but aren't necessarily planners or architects.

It helps if they go through that cohort, helps them understand what equitable development means and really builds power and capacity in communities so that folks can understand how these city processes work.

And so all of these folks are being recommended for the equitable development initiative advisory board, and these are all mayoral appointments.

Thank you so much, Council Member Morales.

Are there any additional comments?

Hearing no additional comments, will the clerk please call the roll on the confirmation of the appointments?

Morales?

Yes.

Mosqueda?

Aye.

Peterson?

Aye.

Sawant?

Yes.

Strauss?

Yes.

Herbold?

Yes.

Juarez?

Aye.

And Council President Gonzalez?

Aye.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

The motion carries and the appointments are confirmed.

Okay, will the clerk, adoption of other resolutions, will the clerk please read item 11 into the record?

Agenda item 11, resolution 32005, a resolution urging the United States Congress to enact legislation creating a roadmap to citizenship and other legislative priorities to support immigrants and refugees.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

I move to adopt resolution 32005. Is there a second?

Second.

Thank you so much.

It's been moved and seconded to adopt resolution 32005. I am the sponsor of this item, so I will address it and then happy to open the floor for comments.

Colleagues, before us today is this really important resolution that I mentioned briefly during our council briefing this morning.

My office has worked over the last several weeks with many community leaders, including those at One America, to develop this resolution.

It is in support of community organizing efforts and Representative Pramila Jayapal's Roadmap to Freedom Resolution, which seeks to fix our broken immigration system.

This resolution calls on Congress to do several things.

First, to create a roadmap to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants across the country, including for those residing, working here in Seattle.

to support family reunification by increasing the number of family visas available.

We also, through this resolution, call on Congress to improve our standing in the eyes of the world by improving our asylum and refugee systems and grow the number of asylees and refugees we legally admit into our country.

The city calls on our federal government to also put an end to private immigration detention, just like our Washington state legislature recently did in this past session.

We must reform these punitive detention and deportation practices, and we ask for a moratorium on deportation.

And finally, we ask Congress to not leave out immigrants, especially those that are undocumented, of any pandemic recovery efforts because of their status.

It is vital that Congress acts with urgency and uses every tool at their disposal, including budget reconciliation, to finally, once and for all, achieve comprehensive immigration reform.

As a council member, I have heard so many stories over the last 15 months about how this pandemic has exacerbated and magnified every systemic inequity we have in our society.

The barrier that immigration status has caused for so many during this pandemic has been devastating.

Thousands of local families were left out of relief and assistance needed to survive this pandemic because of their immigration status.

Many undocumented immigrants cannot access lifelines like unemployment insurance, health care insurance, and other types of benefits that they need in order to continue to survive.

Local governments like Seattle have continued to step up as both the first and the last line of defense.

I'm proud of the work our city has done.

I'm proud of the work this city council has done to support our immigrant neighbors, including making sure that we were not excluding our undocumented immigrant and refugee neighbors from our very own jumpstart Seattle payroll tax.

But we simply do not have the resources to meet the scale of the need of our community members.

We need our federal government to act once and for all and with urgency.

And that must include fixing our broken immigration system and ensuring immigrant communities do not get left behind as we come out of this pandemic.

After four years of a federal government that has continually targeted immigrants and refugees, telling us we do not belong, brutalizing our communities and neighborhoods with xenophobia, racism, and family separation, it is time for reckoning and healing.

And it is my deep hope that Congress will finally act and not delay any longer Passing this resolution is absolutely necessary in order for our representative, Representative Jayapal, to have all of the resources, all of the tools, and all of the support of her local jurisdiction and constituents to be able to go to Washington, D.C.

and advocate accordingly.

So with that, colleague, I would encourage and appreciate your yes vote on this resolution.

Are there any additional comments on the resolution?

Hearing none, will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of the resolution?

Morales?

Yes.

Mosqueda?

Aye.

Peterson?

Yes.

Sawant?

Yes.

Strauss?

Yes.

Herbold?

Yes.

Juarez?

Aye.

And Council President Gonzalez?

Aye.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

Thank you so much.

The motion carries.

The resolution is adopted and the chair will sign it.

Will the clerk please affix my signature to the legislation on my behalf.

Other business colleagues.

We do have one item of other business that I'm aware of.

Council Member Herbold.

I understand would like to have her signature added to her own proclamations.

So go ahead, Council Member Herbold.

Thank you so much.

I was unable to attend this morning's council briefing and missed my opportunity to sign on to the two proclamations, recognizing May as Older Americans Month and Better Hearing Month.

I'd like to request that the clerk please affix my signature to both proclamations.

Thank you.

Thank you so much, Council Member Herbold.

The clerk hears your request and will act accordingly.

Council Member Juarez.

Is there any additional business, any further business to come before the council?

Council Member Herbold, please.

Thank you.

I would like to be excused on May 10th.

Okay.

If there is no objection, Council Member Herbold will be excused on May 10th.

Hearing no objection, Council Member Herbold will be excused on May 10th.

Is there any other further business to come before the council?

All right.

Hearing none, colleagues, this does conclude the items of business on today's agenda.

Our next regularly scheduled city council meeting is on Monday, May 10th, 2021 at 2 o'clock p.m.

I hope that you all have a wonderful afternoon.

We're adjourned.

Bye, everyone.