The Boulder County Democratic Party has developed a platform on Immigration and Foreign Nationals. I received it by e-mail from Marc Sobel, the party’s First Vice Chair.

Because the rights of immigrant members of our society, whether documented or undocumented, should be defended by all who are truly concerned with justice, we honor and defend the basic human rights of every person in the United States regardless of citizenship status. Democrats support the development of an immigration system that honors the human dignity of every worker whether documented or undocumented, includes the full protection of
U.S. labor law, protects against exploitation, values diversity and provides the opportunity for workers to earn citizenship. Specifically, Democrats support:

1. “Earned Legalization,” allowing current undocumented immigrants to apply for permanent status by demonstrating their good moral character and contributions to the United States. We oppose all legislation that militarizes or creates an “iron curtain” border, includes mass deportation of non-criminal community members, changes unlawful entry from a petty
offense to a felony, or criminalizes human acts of assistance to undocumented immigrants.

2. The Federal bipartisan DREAM Act providing citizenship for students who finish high school and complete two years of college or military service. We also support in-state college tuition rates for undocumented students who graduate from Colorado high schools.

3. Legal channels for immigrants to fill jobs in the United States for which there are no U.S. workers. These channels must include the right to travel between the United States and the immigrant’s home country, and the right to be accompanied by family.

I’m curious to know if any local Republican party has adopted a platform. It would be useful to compare them to help frame the issues for community online debate. Is someone wants to send them to me at talkleft-at-gmail-dot-com, I’ll print a similarly detailed version here to get the conversation going.