17-00 Resolution
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RECORD OF RESOLUTIONS
Day tan legal Blank Ca., Form No. 30045
I
c C~.~C_~~ ~ c Resolution No.17CUU Passed u ... . ........................,
YEAR
I! A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF SENTHEN MAHENTHIRARASA
II BEING GRANTED LEGAL RESIDENT STATUS IN THE UNITED STATES
Ii BY THE U,S. IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE
II
I
"
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II WHEREAS, a civil war has raged in the country of Sri Lanka which has claimed nearly
II 70,000 lives and resulted in much bloodshed; and
II
Ii
II WHEREAS, Senthen Mahenthirarasa is an II-year old Sri Lankan boy who was sent out
Ii of Sri Lanka by his mother so that he would not become another casualty of that war; and
:I
'I
II WHEREAS, Senthen's father has died, his mother's whereabouts in the war zone are
I,
Ii unknown, and her last request before her disappearance was that custody of Senthen in the
il United States be given to his aunt and uncle who are Dublin area residents; and
,I
II
! WHEREAS, Senthen's aunt and uncle are committed to assume legal guardianship and to
provide for Senthen's well being and education, and they have acted responsibly by retaining
an attorney to file all necessary applications with the U,S. Immigration and Naturalization
Service in order to make Senthen's US. residency legal under US, law; and
I WHEREAS, the Dublin community is warm and caring and reaches out to support families
and children.
,
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I NOW, ~REFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by tbe Council of the City of Dublin, State of
i Ohio, members concurring that:
i
,
I Section 1. The City of Dublin enthusiastically welcomes and accepts Senthen
I Mahenthirarasa as a Dublin area resident.
I
I Section 2. The City of Dublin urges the US. Immigration and Naturalization Service to
I exercise its authority to review Senthen's applications for residency in a compassionate,
I humanitarian maimer in light of Senthen' s well-founded fear of persecution ifhe is returned
! to Sri Lanka; the fact that Senthen has a willing, responsible family unit to provide for his
I needs; and that he is welcomed by the Dublin community with open arms.
I
Section 3. This Resolution is effective upon passage in accordance with Section 4.04(a)
of the Revised Charter.
Passed this 71 J" day ofd-d;. ,2000.
ATTEST:
~(!~
Clerk of Council
I hereby certify that copies of this Ord'nance/Resolution w~re po.sted in thf'
City of Dublin in accordance wit~ Sect~on 731.25 of the ()tHO ReVised Code.
D.Att (
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January 18, 2000
Cathy A. Boring
Councilwoman, City of Dublin
5200 Emerald Parkway
Dublin, Ohio 43017
Dear Cathy,
My name is Patrice Kelley, I'm a Dublin resident and I'm writing you today about a boy
who lives in our community, Senthan Mahendrarajah.
You may have seen Senthan's story in The Columbus Dispatch last week or on our local
news. A native of Sri Lanka, Senthan is currently a fifth grader at Dublin's Riverside Elementary
School He came to the United States last June to avoid becoming involved in his country's long
and violent civil war. Boys Senthan's age have been recruited to fight or commit terrorist acts
against the majority ethnic group, the Sinhalese. The U.S. Department of Immigration and
Naturalization is seeking to deport Senthan, sending him home to war and possible death. His
hearing is set for Februaty 24th in Cincinnati.
I'd like to talk with you about how the Dublin community can help rally support for
Senthan so that he can remain in the United States and enjoy the kind of safe and secure
childhood every child is entitled to. I've enclosed a copy of The Columbus Dispatch article for
your information. I'm looking forward to talking with you.
Patrice Kelley
789-9437
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JANUARY 11,2000. "~' , ','; "~ ;~r'(:. '-~,:: :::'~'\~~~~;: " :' ': ~ ~, ~;i~f:d;?t;;:'~~. ~:~:f:~~:~.: :';:}:;L1~1i:;~~;~fJ-':CE.MT$~
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Relatives
sue to keep
Sri Lankan
boy in U.S.
II If the boy, 11, wer~sent back
,. to his homeland,h,e might be
..- forcec;l toflghtin a civUwar.
By Kevin Mayhood
Dispatch Sraff Reporter
A Northwest Side man has filed court pa-
pers to keep his ll-year-old nephew in the
United States and out of the :civil war in their
homeland of Sri Lanka.
The motion to have the child, declared ne-
glected and dependent was filed in Franklin
County Juvenile Court
late last month.
The legal action is an
attempt to stop deporta-
tion proceedings started
by the U.S, Department
of Immigration and Natu-
ralization last swnmer.
Immigration agents
picked up the boy,
Senthan Mahendrarajah,
in the Sea-Tac Inter-
Senthan national Airport in Seat-
Mahendrarajah tie as he changed planes
on his way to live with
. Judge rules an aunt in Canada
His entrance to the
Cuban boy must United States is not as dra-
remain in the U.s. matic as Elian Gonzalez's,
until hearing / 3A the 6-year-old Cuban boy
found clinging to a raft off
Borida in November.
But if Senthan is returned to Sri Lanka, he
faces "a scenario that would likely result in
his death," said E. Dennis Muchnicki, attor-
ney for the uncle, Ambalavanar Thavendrara-
jah.
SenthanwaS .smuggled out of Sri Lanka in
June after his mother and an uncle bought -
him false papers and a ticket out
Muchnicki is using the same tactic as
Elian Gonzalez's relatives in Miami - asking
a court to give custody to a U.S. relative. '
Please see SRI LANKA Page 2A
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<!he ([oIlmbus Dispatdt
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SRI LANKAfrom lA
A hearing in Senthan's case is set for Jan. 27.
A major difference in the two cases is that
Eli~'s father wants his son to return to Cuba In
Seothan's case, his father is dead and his mother
wants her son to stay in the United States.
..senthan is a Tamil, the smaller of two ethnic
:oups that make up Sri Lanka
Boys his age have been recruited to fight or com-
..it terrorist acts against the majority group, the
Sinhalese, who make up three-quarters of the popula-
tion of Sri Lanka and control the govenunent
Senthan's life is threatened by both sides. his
lUlde said.
Thavendrarajah, who will take the oath to be-
come a U.S. citizen in Columbus today, is a physi-
cist and has been here 17years.
Senthan and his familyfledfightir.ig irtthe nolth
of Sri Lanka in 1995, bis"lUlcles4i<lThe boy's
father .,-Thave"rid~~'s brothgf.' ":;Iater be-
cameill and died. 'C- .', , ...,:.,
In Sinhalese tenitorYto the south,.thell-year-
oldwasjailed on suspicion of being an accomplice
ora Tamil rebel group" the court filings say. He
::: was. b~aten in jail and told he would either have to
., become acou.mer-spy or-be killed,
"He ,.had to say he would cooperate or he
wouldn'tbe -released," Thavendrarajah said. If he
. were to spy for the Sinhalese, and the rebels fOlUld
out, he would be killed. If returned to Sri Lanka, Senthan :\-lahendrara- uncle, Ambalavanar Thavendrarajah and his wife
"His mother and his lUlcle decided to get him jah, 11, faces having to fight in a civil war. ~is V asanthy, are'trying to keep him in America.
out of that place," his uncle said.
They traveled far southwest to the capital, Co-
lombo. There, Senthan's mother and her brother The deportation case has been transferred to and learning English, basketball and American
sold their possessions and paid an agent to get CincilUlati and now ThavendIO.r<\iah and his wife, . habits, said Mrs. Thavendrarajah.
Senthan on a plane to his aunt in Vancouver. Vasanthy, are seeking custody. "We censor the news from home," she said, His
Senthan was traveling alone when he was \Vhen he first arrived, Senthan went arolUld the mother has returned to the Tamil tenitozy in the
stopped by customs officials in Seattle on JlUle 2. house, holding his hand like a gun and "shooting" north with Senthan's 9-year-old sister. She sends
With his lUlcle translating last night, Senthan at everything, Thavendrarajah said. letters.
id the agents told him his papers were not "gen- "He was shooting at the army," said his lUlcle. Senthan works hard, earning A's and B's on his
Ie." "Basically, that's his enemy. last report card. He is motivated to do well be-
He called his mother, who called his aunt, who .Wesaid he could do anything, but not this." cause he wants to get his mother and sister to the
ll~ Thavendrarajah. He flew to Seattle, posted bail Senthan has been attending fIfth-grade classes United States, his lUlcle said
and brought his nephew to Columbus on JlUle 16. at Riverside Elementary School in Dublin schools