Party Platform:
Immigration
We believe that immigration reform must be approached in a comprehensive and realistic way.
This would include, at a minimum, the following fundamental principles:
- A path to legalization, documentation, and citizenship;
- Enacting the Dream Act allowing undocumented immigrant children to attend college and create a more prepared work force, with an eventual path to citizenship;
- Programs offering immigrants instruction in English and preparation for citizenship;
- Support for local communities working to welcome newcomers and welcome them into the community;
- Basic civil liberties and human rights for all;
- Due process rights for everyone;
- Immigrants’ right to a drivers’ license;
- Work permits, travel permission, and access to educational opportunities for undocumented immigrants who have undergone background and security checks;
- A system that targets and criminalizes employers who recruit undocumented workers from abroad for economic gain;
- Mechanisms to meet legitimate needs for new workers without compromising the rights and opportunities of workers already here;
- A worker visa program that adequately protects wages and working conditions of U.S. and immigrant workers;• The right of immigrant workers to join or form a union;
- The right of immigrant workers to change jobs;
- Clearing the family backlogs to reunite family members who have filed legal applications;
- Condemnation of anti-immigrant legislation.
- Opposing the construction of a wall of shame on any of our borders.