In a show of solidarity with nearby cities and the state, the Clyde Hill city council voted unanimously to pass a resolution opposing President Donald Trump’s executive order regarding restrictions on immigration.
Councilmember Scott Moore said he introduced the resolution to take a stand for what is right. The council passed it during its Feb. 14 meeting.
“The truth of the matter is, the night that order was issued, my wife and I stayed up upset,” he said. “It was the wrong thing for this country. I felt it was my duty as a citizen and elected official.”
Councilmembers Marianne Klaas and Barre Seibert voted in agreement to pass the resolution. Moore said he got the approval of councilmember Chris Baker, who — along with councilmember Bruce Dodds — were not present at the meeting.
Trump’s executive order temporarily banned travel from seven Muslim-majority countries (Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya and Yemen), purportedly to prevent terrorists from entering the country. The executive order does not include any countries from which radicalized Muslims have killed Americans in the United States since Sept. 11, 2001.
The order immediately ran into a legal buzzsaw. Much of the legal opposition originated in the state of Washington.
Moore met with Clyde Hill Mayor George Martin and City Clerk Mitch Wasserman to discuss the appropriateness of the resolution for the mainly inward-looking Clyde Hill council.
The text of the resolution reads “The City Council opposes President Trump’s Executive order of January 27, 2017 and expresses its support for our local employers and for those affected individuals attempting to gain what would be otherwise legal entry or re-entry into the United States under visas validly issued by the U.S. Department of State upon satisfaction of the Department’s lawful and establish [sic] screening and related procedures.”
The full text of the resolution is available online.
“We don’t want to turn our city council into a forum for every political issue out there,” Moore said. “But I don’t view this as a political issue. It’s a constitutional issue. It’s going against settled law and contrary to how the Constitution says things should be.”
The order was quickly halted by a Seattle judge and then Washington State Attorney Bob Ferguson took it to the Ninth Circuit Court.
“Events certainly took on a life of their own,” Moore said. “It’s something the whole state of Washington can be proud of.”
Trump has promised a a new immigration order tailored to the language of the court.