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2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumBernie Sander Immigration Plan: 20 Reasons WHY Bernie Sanders Is More Pro-Immigrant Than Hillary
Democratic Presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) released a sweeping immigration policy paper on Tuesday that pushed for pro-immigration policies that are arguably more ambitious than those proposed months ago by rival candidate and former Maryland Gov. Martin OMalley. Hands down, the plan in more progressive, and more specific than former Sec. of State Hillary Clintons positions on immigration. Below, we list the 20 reasons why, starting with the fact that Sanders new document is far more detailed than any of Clintons statements.
To be clear, these arent all actions that Clinton has refused to take. Plus, theres no guarantee that Sanders could even execute this ambitious set of policies. At first glance, his legislative immigration agenda appears to leave little room for compromise with conservatives, demanding even less concessions from Republicans than the 2013 comprehensive immigration reform bill that failed to make it to the floor of the House. Still, Sanders is pledging to address immigration during his first 100 days in office if elected, and hes provided specific promises on executive actions that he would take, with or without a vote from Congress. Like Clinton, he has said he would go further than sitting president Barack Obama. In this new proposal, hes specified where further is.
The announcement comes at a time when Sanders and Clinton are gearing up for a primary fight in February and March in heavily Latino swing states like Nevada and Colorado. Clinton currently holds a solid lead in both polls and organizing power in those states. Both candidates have pledged for fight for comprehensive immigration reform, vowed to make immigration enforcement more humane and rejected Republican policies that would make border enforcement a precondition to finding a legal pathway for the countrys estimated 11 million unauthorized immigrants.
A Plan
1) First and foremost, Sanders now has a more detailed immigration proposal than Clinton. While both candidates might agree on some major policy objectives, we dont know where Clinton stands on specifics like Border Patrol accountability or family detention.
Executive Actions
2) Increase access to legal counsel. Unlike criminal defendants, immigrants facing deportation dont have the right to a state-appointed lawyer.
3) Curb DOJ rules that allow for racial profiling of immigrants. Currently, profiling of suspects is on the basis of race, religion, gender and other factors is allowed only to the extent that there is trustworthy information, relevant to the locality or time frame, that links persons possessing a particular listed characteristic to an identified criminal incident.
4) Reduce or cease deporting immigrant to "unfamiliar locations." Busted for crossing the border from Mexico? Under current rules, you get be deported to pretty much any part of your country.
5) Require Customs and Border Patrol agents to wear body cameras, something that the agency recently refused to do. Sanders also called for agents to be held accountable for excessive force violations, something that activists say the CBP is not currently doing. The agency disagrees.
6) Reduce or eliminate border checkpoints inside the 100-mile border zone. Probably more exciting for libertarian YouTubers than actual immigrants, this proposal seeks to end a quirky rule that groups like the ACLU claim eliminate the 4th Amendment along an arbitrary swath of the country.
7) End Obamas Priority Enforcement Program, a toned down version of the Secure Communities program that deputizes local law enforcement to help immigration officials.
8) Expand "parole in place." Like DACA or DAPA (Obama's deferred actions for DREAMers and their Parents), parole in place allowed undocumented immigrants to stay in the U.S. without fear of deportation. Currently, it is only available to spouses, parents, and children of military personnel.
Legislative Goals and Priorities
9) Expand the definition of asylum to include victims of gang violence. Currently, asylum is restricted to those who are persecuted on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
Sanders proposal seeks to flip that requirement to include a class of aggressors: gangs. Depending on how this is ultimately phrased, this proposed class of asylum seekers could include a significant percentage of the population of El Salvador.
10) Whistleblower visa: immigrants who are important witnesses in domestic violence and other violent crime cases have access to a U-Visa. Sanders wants another visa that allows immigrants to live and work in the U.S. if they are witnesses or plaintiffs in Labor disputes.
11) Additional funding to the completely swamped immigration court system.
cont'
http://www.latintimes.com/bernie-sander-immigration-plan-20-reasons-why-senator-more-pro-immigrant-hillary-355663
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Bernie Sander Immigration Plan: 20 Reasons WHY Bernie Sanders Is More Pro-Immigrant Than Hillary (Original Post)
Segami
Nov 2015
OP
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)1. Great op, Segami!
K & R!
think
(11,641 posts)2. Really like #10. Witnesses of govt & corporate crimes in Latin America truly need it
Their lives might depend on it.
HerbChestnut
(3,649 posts)3. K&R
Vattel
(9,289 posts)4. #16 is huge. Amnesty, not punishment!!!!
bigwillq
(72,790 posts)5. K and R (nt)