Resolution in Support of Fair and Comprehensive Immigration Reform

WHEREAS the existing US immigration system has been broken for decades, was not appropriately addressed in the 1986 Immigration Reform Act or by the post-2001 reforms of the U.S. Immigration Service and Naturalization (now ICE), and no U.S. policy has been developed to alleviate the root causes of the massively increasing influx of undocumented immigrants since the 1990’s,

WHEREAS the militarization of the U.S. border and massive deportations have utterly failed to provide a long-term solution to the push-and-pull factors which bring immigrants across our borders and resulted in the death of thousands and separation of families,

WHEREAS the current Obama Administration has placed fair and comprehensive Immigration Reform on the top of its agenda and CAUSE, the Coastal Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy, based in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, has done a substantive analysis of present policies and their effect on immigration,

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Ventura County Democratic Party support principles of Fair and Comprehensive Immigration Reform. Specifically, we:

• recognize the full humanity of immigrants and protection guaranteed by law of their human and civil rights,
  
• stand in favor of laws which uphold family unity and the end of the criminalization of immigrants,
  
• believe that comprehensive immigration reform will provide economic opportunity to our region while upholding worker rights, especially concerning the farm workers who are vital in the local and national economy,
  
• seek a just and humane reform that will provide a fair process to secure legal residency and a path to U.S. citizenship,
  

THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Ventura County Democratic Party applauds and supports the efforts of CAUSE; will contribute to our democratic process by facilitating cross-cultural coalition building and educating ourselves, the public, and our elected public representatives about the complex historical and urgent present day elements of immigration reform; and will communicate passage of this resolution to CAUSE and to all members of Congress representing any part of Ventura County.

Sponsor: Ruth Maria Cappelle

Passed by the Ventura County Democratic Central Committee on 02/26/2013