Immigration Plank

General Preamble

Ventura County is one of the most diverse counties in California.  Its vibrant diversity reflects the foundation of America’s strength.  It emphasizes the fundamental principles of inclusion and national unity that respect the rules of law and human dignity.  Ventura County Democrats believe that the American immigration system should be inclusive, fair, and just.  The immigration system must be consistent with American values of freedom, opportunity, compassion, and respect for human rights.

As citizens of a state built upon the successes of immigrants, Ventura County Democrats will:

Statement of Principles

• Affirm that we can make Ventura County stronger as we uphold our values by honoring the long established American tradition of providing a safe place for immigrants seeking a life of freedom and opportunity;
  
• Ensure that the fundamental protections guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights are applied to every person in Ventura County regardless of his/her status as U.S. born, naturalized citizen, immigrant with or without legal documents;
  
• Strongly support the 14th amendment, which defines any person born within the United States of America as a U.S. Citizen with full and complete rights and privileges of such citizenship;
  
• Support immigration reform legislation by Federal, State, County and City governments that addresses fairness, family reunification, family unity, including giving full faith and credit to families of same sex marriages and same sex couples and safe guards a timely process without any extraneous conditions, such as the provision of $48 billion for so-called border security and the construction and staffing of detention centers;
  
• Support a reasonable time frame of a path to legal residency and citizenship for immigrants in our communities without undue burdens, such as exorbitant fees and a mandate to return to the country of origin and begin the application process there;
  
• Support equal access to housing, healthcare and education, to employment with protection from exploitation;
  

Statement in Support of Specified Actions by Government Agencies

• While the Federal government has the sole responsibility for immigration policy, all levels of government are responsible for public safety and general welfare for all residents, citizens and non-citizens alike.  We support all efforts by state and local agencies to actively encourage immigrant participation in civic life;
  
• At the Federal level, we encourage an increased and expedited processing of applications for family reunification, being granted legal residency and naturalization, allowing a minimum of two years for submitting an application from the date of adoption of new immigration legislation, allowing application from within the United States, and supporting reasonable and fair application fees; 
  
• At the Federal level, we support efforts to make the naturalization process more efficient and make citizenship more accessible and affordable by increasing transparency on application fees, providing uniform administration of the naturalization exam, and assisting immigrants to prepare for citizenship;
  
• At the Federal level of government, we support efforts providing undocumented immigrants with a path to legal residency and citizenship; including methods to pay back taxes; learn English; register with the federal government for work permits; contribute to the U.S. through education, work, military service, or other community service; complete criminal and security background checks; and acquire driver licenses and insurance coverage;
  
• Support our elected officials, at all levels of government, in seeking timely information with regard to status of immigration paperwork for constituents, particularly for those constituents who have suffered hardships by having been forcibly separated from their families, from backlogs and undue delays and for those constituents who have suffered unfair rendering of any government service, due to their immigrant status;
  
• Support efforts to promote available government services to immigrant communities;
  
• Support efforts to provide eligibility for Social Security benefits for those who have paid appropriate FICA taxes while working;
  

Statement in Support of Education and Housing

• Support efforts to provide assistance in English learning and educational opportunities for cultural immersion by our local schools, colleges, and universities;
  
• Support efforts that maximize educational opportunities for all children of immigrants, students, whose children who may or may not be American born, including access to public education and financial assistance as an investment for our common future.  We support the prohibition of any conduct that denies equal educational opportunities to all, including any inquiry into the citizenship or immigration status of a child or his/her parents in our public schools, and colleges and universities;
  
• Support efforts to provide equal access to housing to all immigrants within our county and condemn any xenophobic or racist conduct that denies equal housing to all;
  

Statement in Support of Healthcare

• Support efforts to provide universal health care for all individuals regardless of immigration status to ensure the well-being of our entire community;
  
• Support efforts to educate healthcare providers and our communities on healthcare rights, including rights to confidentiality and privacy by providing appropriate information and assisting English learners;
  
• Support efforts to develop an adequate process of alleviating fears and making treatment accessible;
  

Statement in Support of Integrating Our Immigrant Communities into the Social Framework of Our County

• Support outreach efforts within our county that promote civic engagement and participation in the political process that reflect the diversity of our communities, such as voter registration and voter education, and support effective legal safeguards and protections for access to voting and voting materials in letter, spirit, and practice;
  
• Strongly support intervention for abuse, discrimination and crime among or against immigrants and all efforts to remove the fear of arrest and deportation for reporting such abuse;
  
• Encourage the cooperation of local law enforcement with immigrant communities in the interest of public safety for all;
  

Statement of Opposition to Actions Directed Against Immigrants

• Strongly oppose and denounce scapegoating, racial profiling, bigotry, vigilantism, exploitation, and any xenophobic conduct that polarize communities and will publicly denounce actions, by any government, organization or group, that are intended to keep undocumented immigrants in the shadows of our society; including a landlord’s inquiry into the citizenship or immigration status of a tenant or a prospective tenant;
  
• Strongly oppose and denounce any abuse of discretion by government agencies, at any level, and/or provider of any services in unfairly targeting, threatening, intimidating, or otherwise harassing immigrants because of their immigration statuses;
  
• Strongly oppose and denounce the use of any governmental agency, at any level and provider of any service as an agent of federal immigration law enforcement;
  
• Strongly oppose and denounce any effort made to “mark” birth certificates, birth records, or any government record that announces that such children were born of persons not legally authorized to be within the United States;
  
• Strongly oppose and denounce raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that result in deportation without due process and forcible separation of families; and
  
• Strongly oppose and denounce raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at homes and work places as violations of the rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.