America has a long and rich heritage of immigration. Democrats have always embraced our country's diversity, but we also recognize that we need to fix our broken immigration system.
Democrats support comprehensive reform grounded in the principles of responsibility and accountability:
- Responsibility from the federal government to secure our borders: The Obama administration has dedicated unprecedented resources to securing our borders and reducing the flow of illegal traffic in both directions.
- Responsibility from unscrupulous businesses that break the law: Employers who exploit undocumented workers undermine American workers, and they have to be held accountable.
- Responsibility from people who are living in the United States illegally: Undocumented workers who are in good standing must admit that they broke the law, pay taxes and a penalty, learn English, and get right with the law before they can get in line to earn their citizenship.
Comprehensive immigration reform is essential to continue the tradition of innovation that immigrants have brought to the American economy and to ensure a level playing field for American workers.
To learn more about President Obama's plan to fix our broken immigration system, visit www.whitehouse.gov/issues/immigration.
