Democratic Party on Immigration

Party Platform

DREAM Act for now; comprehensive reform next

President Obama and the Democrats fought for the DREAM Act, legislation ensuring that young people who want to contribute fully to our society and serve our country are able to become legal residents and ultimately citizens. Although this bill has a long history of bipartisan support, Republicans decided to play politics with it rather than do the right thing. So the Obama administration provided temporary relief for youth who came to the United States as children, through no fault of their own, grew up as Americans and are poised to make a real contribution to our country.

"We congratulate President Barack Obama for giving hope to millions of aspiring citizens when he announced the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Immigrant you Democratic Party stand for comprehensive immigration reform that intelligently prioritizes our country's security and economic needs, while Mitt Romney and the Republicans have opposed commonsense reforms and pandered to the far right.

Source: 2012 Democratic Party Platform , Sep 4, 2012

Path for undocumented aliens to earn citizenship

We will extend the promise of citizenship to those still struggling for freedom. Today’s immigration laws do not reflect our values or serve our security, and we will work for real reform. The solution is not to establish a massive new status of second-class workers; that betrays our values and hurts all working people. Undocumented immigrants within our borders who clear a background check, work hard and pay taxes should have a path to earn full participation in America. We will hasten family reunification for parents and children, husbands and wives, and offer more English-language and civic education classes so immigrants can assume all the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. As we undertake these steps, we will work with our neighbors to strengthen our security so we are safer from those who would come here to harm us. We are a nation of immigrants, and from Arab-Americans in California to Latinos in Florida, we share the dream of a better life in the country we love. Source: The Democratic Platform for America, p.36 , Jul 10, 2004

Reform the INS; reduce immigrant backlog

Democrats support reforming the INS to provide better services, and investing the resources needed to reduce the backlog of citizenship applications from nearly two years to three months. Democrats also support increased resources for English language courses, which not only help newcomers learn our common language but also help us promote our common values. Family reunification should continue to be the cornerstone of our legal immigration system. Source: 2000 Democratic National Platform as adopted by the DNC , Aug 15, 2000

Protect immigrants from exploitation by employers

We must punish employers who recruit undocumented workers in order to exploit them. We reject calls for guest worker programs that lead to exploitation. We should have equitable asylum policies that treat people the same whether they have fled violence from the Right and Left. We support restoration of basic due process protections, so that immigrants are no longer subject to deportation for minor offenses and are eligible to receive safety net services supported by their tax dollars. Source: 2000 Democratic National Platform as adopted by the DNC , Aug 15, 2000

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Page last updated: Apr 28, 2013