At its Dec. 15 meeting, the St. Louis Park City Council issued a proclamation observing Dec. 18 as International Migrants Day.
International Migrants Day has been recognized annually since 2000, when the observance was first proclaimed by the United Nations (UN) to bring awareness to the complex issues impacting migrants across the world and celebrate their resilience and contributions. According to the UN: “In 2020, over 281 million people were international migrants, comprising about 3.5% of the global population, while over 59 million people were internally displaced.”
St. Louis Park observes International Migrants Day as a part of its commitment to creating a more just and inclusive community for all.
In observance of International Migrants Day, the City of St. Louis Park invites you to:
- Learn about migrants and their stories of migration
- Understand the challenges faced by migrants
Proclamation \
The proclamation reads:
Whereas, Minnesota has a long history of being a landing place for migrants from across the world. In the 1890s, 40% of Minnesotans were born outside of the United States and by 1896, official voting instructions were offered in nine different languages to include the Czech, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Polish and Swedish communities; and
Whereas, Minnesota is home to 449,000 immigrants, including those who migrate by choice and those who migrate out of necessity, such as the estimated 35.3 million refugees by the end of 2022 (UNHCR, 2023); top international immigrants in Minnesota in 2024 includes Mexico, Somalia, India, Ethiopia, Laos and Thailand; and
Whereas, Migrants leave their home countries for a better life, facing exploitation and violence on their migration journey with at least 9,000 migrants are reported as having died or gone missing during migration to the Americas since 2014, and this does not count those who are not reported at all; and
Whereas, Migrants are our family members, neighbors, colleagues, business owners, doctors, teachers, community leaders and more, contributing to what makes our state and city a great place to live and work; and
Whereas, International Migrants Day is ever more relevant as migrants are criminalized and dehumanized by federal level policies that have caused fear and persecution within our schools, workplaces and community towards citizens and non-citizens because of their birthplace, national origin or ancestry; and
Whereas, The City of St. Louis Park encourages our community to learn about migration and do their part to build a community where migrants have respect, dignity and safety. The city is doing our part by working towards an updated citywide Title VI Plan on nondiscrimination where we prevent and address discrimination when it occurs based on race, color or national origin,
Now therefore, let it be known that the mayor and city council of the City of St. Louis Park, Minnesota, observe December 18th as International Migrants Day in our community.
