Denver Democrats Call for Immigration Reform

The Executive Committee of the Democratic Party of Denver made an emphatic statement in support of immigration reform at its monthly meeting on Tuesday, June 16, calling on Congress and the President to act boldly and swiftly to bring 21st century perspectives to an immigration system steeped in 44-year-old assumptions dating back to legislation created in 1965 that no longer addresses contemporary realities.

The resolution cites the United States’ legacy as a nation of immigrants and recognizes that too many families are separated for decades, with parents and children torn apart, while hard-working, tax-paying immigrants make key contributions to our nation without being offered a clear path to full citizenship.

“Immigration reform is arguably one of the foremost Civil Rights issues we face in the United States and in Colorado today,” said Democratic Party of Denver Chair Cindy Lowery.  “No longer can we sit idly by and insist this issue be resolved on the federal level.  I am proud that the Democratic Party of Denver has passed this resolution calling for a humane, fair, and comprehensive response from our elected officials on immigration reform.”

The failure to pass meaningful legislation such as the Tuition Equity Bill is seen as a squandering of our investment in the youth who have attended U.S. schools, who have been acculturated to American society, and who represent the promise of our country’s intellectual capital and competitiveness in a global market. 

The full text of the preamble accompanying the resolution is available on the Democratic Party of Denver website at http://denverdemocrats.net/node/3440.  The closing passage and the resolution itself follow:

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Executive Committee of the Democratic Party of Denver urges, without delay, that the United States Congress and the President pass a comprehensive immigration reform that includes a clear path to citizenship. Only then will the millions of Americans affected by our broken immigration system be fully able to participate in this great democracy where they have set down roots and have endeavored to live the American dream by contributing their labor.

THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we call upon President Obama and all Congressional leaders to support comprehensive immigration reform that would:

• Provide a pathway to citizenship for immigrants.

• Reunify immigrant families that have been separated by immigration itself or due to work place raids and ensuing indefinite detentions and deportations.

• Increase the number of visas for short-term workers to come into the United States to work in a safe, legal, and orderly way.

• Extend legal protection to all workers who come to stay for a certain period of time as well as for those who stay permanently, including the right to bargain for higher wages, to protest against poor working conditions, and to preserve their human rights as workers, be they documented or undocumented.

• Eliminate privately-operated detention centers, which are not regulated by the federal or state governments, and end indiscriminate raids of homes and workplaces that are violations of due process and human rights.

• Include a path for students who have completed high school or a G.E.D. to obtain conditional residency by enrolling in higher education, the armed forces, any apprenticeship program offered by a labor union, or a community service organization.