Democratic Party 2012 platform on immigration: why it's wrong

The section about immigration in the Democratic Party 2012 platform is below. It only has broad outlines and countless Democratic leaders have repeated these same things many times before.

They were wrong then, and the platform is wrong now (see each link for the details):

The first thing to note is that the platform includes a quote from an illegal alien praising Obama's actions on immigration. On immigration, the Democratic Party represents the interests of foreign citizens, not struggling American workers.

In addition to that:

1. It promotes Comprehensive Immigration Reform, a plan with many very large downsides.

2. It implies that that "Reform" would reduce or eliminate the following: "separating families, undermining honest employers and workers, burdening law enforcement". The opposite is the case: that "Reform" would encourage even more illegal immigration and the current situation would recur.

3. It promotes the anti-American DREAM Act, a bill that would let the illegal aliens covered by it deprive some U.S. citizens of college.

4. It refers to "temporary relief for youth who came to the United States as children", which is Obama's DREAM Act-by-executive-fiat. His move adds 1.8 million new legal workers to a very weak job market, and those new legal workers will be able to compete against struggling American workers in any job for which they're qualified. Most of those workers harmed by Obama's amnesty will be Democrats. In addition to helping foreign citizens lower wages for Americans, Obama's amnesty will help the rich get richer. Obama screwed a good portion of the Democratic Party's base in order to get votes from another portion and to help those who'll profit from the scheme.

5. It claims that Obama's "immigration policies... demand personal responsibility" when the exact opposite is the case. Democratic immigration policies would let all the countless businesses that have knowingly employed illegal aliens off the hook: none of them would be held accountable for their actions over the past several decades. Their plans would let illegal alien parents who've put their children at risk by bringing them here illegally off the hook. Their plans would reward corrupt foreign governments that encourage people to go to the U.S. because they send remittances home. Their plans are the biggest moral hazard of all, and would encourage more illegal immigration and more irresponsible behavior.

6. It uses the following misleading talking points: nation of immigrants, system is broken, and living in the shadows.

7. Regarding "requires them to get right with the law", see another misleading talking point: amnesty require.

8. The claim that "[u]nlawful crossings are at a 40-year low" is misleading: border crossings are down not due to Obama's immigration policies, but due to the economic downturn. Note also the the Obama administration has cooked the books on deportations.

9. The claim "continuing to work to hold employers accountable for whom they hire" is misleading because most such cases consist merely of fines: the Obama administration has been about as weak as the George W Bush administration when it comes to prosecuting those who intentionally hire illegal aliens. And, in some cases where the Department of Homeland Security has conducted "paper raids", they've let the illegal alien workers go and even given some work permits.

10. Regarding the border being "more secure", due to the loose borders policies of both Obama and Bush, foreign criminal organizations operate in hundreds of localities throughout the U.S. A park in Arizona dozens of miles inland is a "no go zone" for Americans [1].

11. Regarding the "do not pose a threat" claim, some of those who Obama refuses to deport will end up committing crimes. And their presence poses an economic threat, with many of them taking jobs or educational resources away from Americans.

12. Regarding the "local measures targeting immigrants", all such measures were designed to curb illegal immigration and weren't targeting "immigrants" in general. Even provisions involving legal workers carrying immigration documents at all times were just designed to identify those who didn't have such documents: illegal aliens. And, such a requirement is already a federal requirement. See Arizona for much more; see also Alabama and South Carolina.

Here are the immigration excerpts from the platform. Compare the following to what's above.

I certainly hope you won't trust the Democratic Party's platform on this issue, but if I didn't change your mind leave a comment below and I'll add even more.

Excerpts:

Immigration. Democrats are strongly committed to enacting comprehensive immigration reform that supports our economic goals and reflects our values as both a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. The story of the United States would not be possible without the generations of immigrants who have strengthened our country and contributed to our economy. Our prosperity depends on an immigration system that reflects our values and meets America's needs. But Americans know that today, our immigration system is badly broken - separating families, undermining honest employers and workers, burdening law enforcement, and leaving millions of people working and living in the shadows.

Democrats know there is broad consensus to repair that system and strengthen our economy, and that the country urgently needs comprehensive immigration reform that brings undocumented immigrants out of the shadows and requires them to get right with the law, learn English, and pay taxes in order to get on a path to earn citizenship. We need an immigration reform that creates a system for allocating visas that meets our economic needs, keeps families together, and enforces the law. But instead of promoting the national interest, Republicans have blocked immigration reform in Congress and used the issue as a political wedge.

Despite the obstacles, President Obama has made important progress in implementing immigration policies that reward hard work and demand personal responsibility. Today, the Southwest border is more secure than at any time in the past 20 years. Unlawful crossings are at a 40-year low, and the Border Patrol is better staffed than at any time in its history. We are continuing to work to hold employers accountable for whom they hire. The Department of Homeland Security is prioritizing the deportation of criminals who endanger our communities over the deportation of immigrants who do not pose a threat, such as children who came here through no fault of their own and are pursuing an education. President Obama's administration has streamlined the process of legal immigration for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, supporting family reunification as a priority, and has enhanced opportunities for English-language learning and immigrant integration. When states sought to interfere with federal immigration law by passing local measures targeting immigrants, this administration challenged them in court.

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.

These are not permanent fixes. Only Congress can provide a permanent, comprehensive solution. But these are steps in the right direction. President Obama and the 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.

...[in the "Civil Rights" section] The Administration has said that the word 'family' in immigration includes LGBT relationships in order to protect bi-national families threatened with deportation.

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[1] From June 2010 (link):

Eighty miles north of the border separating Arizona from Mexico runs Interstate 8, a major roadway that runs through the middle of the Sonoran Desert National Monument... According to eight new signs that have been posted recently and have been circulated heavily across the Internet, visitors to the national park are advised to avoid camping south of Interstate 8 to avoid drug and human smuggling activity. The signs go on to say, "Visitors may encounter armed criminals and smuggling vehicles traveling at a high rate of speed."