An SJL member addresses City Council members last December.

DEARBORN — Despite persistent efforts led by students from the Social Justice League (SJL) at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, city officials are still hesitant to pass a resolution that welcomes Syrian refugees. 

Members of the student organization originally spoke at the City Council meeting last fall, asking the Council to pass a resolution that would identify the city as a welcoming community following the Syrian refugee crisis. 

At the time, Gov. Snyder had announced that there would be a pause in plans to resettle thousands of refugees in the state. 

While some city council members didn’t appear to oppose such a resolution, some felt it was unnecessary. Mayor Jack O’Reilly told the student organization that the city has long worked with refugee resettlement groups to bring families to Dearborn and that those initiatives would continue with or without a resolution.

SJL members reached out to City Council members individually in the months that followed in order to come up with a draft of a resolution that would meet the city’s standards.

Titled “Welcoming Resolution”, it states that the city of Dearborn has had a noteworthy past of welcoming refugees and it will continue to do so without compromising the safety of its current residents.

“As the home town of Henry Ford, who invited people from around the nation and around the world to Dearborn by instituting $5 a day wages, it is more important than ever that our leaders continue this tradition of responding with compassion and to ensure that America remains the place of freedom and opportunity,” the first part of the resolution states. 

“The City Council hereby states that the city of Dearborn remains a safe haven for legal refugees and immigrants from around the world, regardless of their national origin…The City Council of Dearborn, Michigan hereby affirms its willingness to welcome refugees approved by federal authorities, because it is consistent with the basic values of our community.”

Late last year, similar resolutions were passed in East Lansing and in Hamtramck— a point of reference used by SJL members to convince Dearborn to do so as well.

SJL member John Gavia told The Arab American News  the student organization was pleased that the resolution appeared to finally gain some traction when the city’s legal department re-worked it to meet their standards.

Gavia said the resolution initially only referenced Syrian refugees in its earliest drafts, but those specifications were removed after the resolution was forwarded to the city’s legal department.

“Originally, the resolution specifically cited Syrian refugees, but then we had to change it and make an emphasis to welcome all refugees and immigrants,” Gavia said “The resolution now states the city is going to be abiding by the law. It’s not going to be a welcoming resolution…Rather, it’s just reiterating the law.”

The SJL described the journey to get the resolution moving as a strenuous one. Originally, some City Council members stated that addressing issues related to foreign affairs was not in the realm of subjects the city tackles.

However, Councilman Mike Sareini pointed out that in 2009 the Council passed a resolution led by his mother, Suzanne Sareini, and then-Councilman George Darany, condemning Israeli violence in Gaza. Some of the Council members then are still active Council members today.

“The problem I have is that they continue to state ‘we don’t engage in affairs that aren’t in the scope of the council’, which is not true,” Sareini told The Arab American News. “After everyone agreed that we are a welcoming community, I said ‘then what’s the harm in passing this resolution?'”

Sareini said the legal department intended on tabling SJL’s refugee resolution until he insisted they work on changing  some of the language to meet the city’s standards. 

On Thursday, Sareini presented the resolution at a committee of a whole meeting, aiming to have it go up for a vote at the next city council meeting. However, the resolution didn’t garner enough support from council members, and it was  tabled.

Gavia said the student organization will move forward with more initiatives aimed at assisting immigrants in the state. The organization plans to work with city leaders on future projects. 

“We won’t stop at the resolution,” Gavia said. “We will continue to make Dearborn as welcoming of a city as it can be. We are going to try different efforts and different campaigns, along with the mayor of Dearborn, to establish further methods and procedures that can help immigrants and refugees. Especially since Dearborn is one of the most diverse cities in the U.S.”