Community Board 6 Members Unanimously Denounce President Trump's Immigration Ban Executive Order

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At its February 8, 2017 general meeting, Brooklyn Community Board 6 voted unanimously  to adopt the resolution below opposing President Trump's January 27, 2017 Immigration Ban Executive Order.
Community Board 6 represents the Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Columbia Waterfront, Gowanus, Park Slope and Red Hook neighborhoods.

The resolution reads:
-Whereas The 45th President of the United States has expressly stated in an Executive Order that the United States Government should withhold entry into our nation of immigrants based on their nation of origin;

-Whereas the United States is a nation born with the promise of a New World with new opportunities to exercise freedoms that were denied elsewhere including speech and religion;

-Whereas New York City is often the first stop for countless immigrants who come to its shores to make new lives for themselves and their families;

-Whereas Brooklyn has been a crossroads for immigrants throughout its rich history, creating the distinct neighborhoods and cultural outlets that are still celebrated today;

-Whereas Brooklyn Community Board 6 is made up of neighborhoods that celebrate, reflect and respect all of its residents, no matter where they originally called home;

-Whereas, according to the Charter of the City of New York, among other responsibilities, it is the mandate of the Community Board to consider the needs of its district and advise any public officers with respect to any matter relating to the welfare of the district and its residents;

-Whereas Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Columbia Waterfront, Gowanus, Park Slope and Red Hook, the neighborhoods that comprise Brooklyn Community Board 6, all share a view of the Statue of Liberty – upon whose pedestal is written:

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. “Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she With silent lips.
“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” marking this city as a representation of a nation that would serve as a safe harbor for all, regardless of where they came from;
Therefore be it resolved that Brooklyn Community Board 6 denounces President Donald Trump’s PROTECTING THE NATION FROM FOREIGN TERRORIST ENTRY INTO THE UNITED STATES Executive Order issued on Friday January 27, 2017 and urges a full repeal of the President’s Executive Order;

Be it further resolved, the Board calls upon President Donald Trump to pursue compassionate and fair immigration policies which refrain from xenophobic rhetoric and place a higher value on the American ideals of freedom and liberty.

Thank you to the members of the community board for remembering that we are all immigrants to these shores, that we have all contributed in making this the nation it is today and that our own city and neighborhoods are a testament to those who came here before us to live in liberty, peace and prosperity.