Title
To express the City of Columbus' commitment as a place of refuge for those fleeing violence in Syria
Body
WHEREAS, The City of Columbus is proud to be an ethically diverse city and home to one-quarter of Ohio’s foreign-born population; and
WHEREAS, More than 100,000 of the region’s residents are New Americans; and
WHEREAS, The people of Columbus have a long history of opening their arms and homes to the vulnerable and disadvantaged; and
WHEREAS, The conflict in Syria has caused a refugee crisis, which the City of Columbus will not ignore; and
WHEREAS, More than seven million Syrians have been displaced from their homes by war, many referred to the United States of America for resettlement are the most vulnerable from Syria’s collapse: torture survivors, people with special medical needs, women who head households and children; and
WHEREAS, The number of refugees fleeing the conflict in Syria to other countries has now eclipsed four million people, confirming the Syrian refugee crisis as the single largest refugee crisis in a generation; and
WHEREAS, President Barack Obama has committed to accepting 10,000 Syrian refugees in the United States within the next year; and
WHEREAS, those wishing to come to the United States must apply through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the United Nations Refugee Agency, and are subject to the highest level of security checks of any category of traveler to our country; and
WHEREAS, Refugees are vetted by the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center/Intelligence Community, the FBI’s Terrorist Screening Center, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and are subject to recurrent vetting; and
WHEREAS, Refugees from Syria are subject to additional screening that verifies what caused them to flee their homes; and
WHEREAS, The intense background and medical checks required of refugees can take up to two years to complete; and
WHEREA...
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