IMMIGRATION PLATFORM

1. We support uniform immigration laws and enforcement nationwide, not a patch work, and call for immigration reform to remain in the hands of Congress, not the Colorado General Assembly!
2. We call for the establishment of an expedited process for easy and early registration of undocumented residents. Once documented, they should be allowed to work and have equal access to services provided by law, including the right to obtain a driver’s license.
3. We support comprehensive, humane reform of immigration and labor laws to provide protection for the labor force; to prevent exploitation; to provide stricter health and safety inspections; and provide the opportunity for farm workers to engage in collective bargaining.
4. We support federal legislative efforts to create a fair and easily managed guest worker program which includes a path to citizenship for undocumented workers and their families.
5. We support the DREAM Act, providing citizenship for students who finish high school and complete two years of college, military service, or civil service. We also support in-state tuition rates for undocumented students who graduate from Colorado high schools.
6. We support equal protection of the laws. As such, we support efforts to restore benefits to legal immigrants, reversing the effects of the 1996 welfare reforms.
7. We reject attempts to provoke isolation and xenophobia against particular groups or communities, including our newest immigrant members.
8. We oppose institutionalization of undocumented immigrants as a marked and permanent underclass, and oppose the classification of illegal immigration as a criminal offense. Undocumented immigrants who have committed no criminal offense should not be subject to incarceration.
9. We oppose any exploitation of immigrants, denial of immigrant’s civil rights and any attempts to limit or discourage civic engagement by immigrants.
10. We call for repeal of the Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal (CEAR) Act which precludes undocumented immigrants from reporting crime without fear of deportation.

EDUCATION

1. We believe that state public education policies should provide every student with an opportunity to reach his or her potential and that quality public education is an investment with real tangible return for our economy. A high quality education is not only a basic right; it is also a necessary component of a healthy democracy.
2. To this end we demand full funding of a thorough and uniform education with public monies in public schools.
3. We call for improved educational opportunity for all through equal access to quality public education from early childhood through adulthood.
4. We support a review and revamping of the Colorado State Accountability System (CSAP). We recognize that CSAP alone does not adequately represent the quality of our schools. We support content standards and a state accountability system that emphasizes academic performance rather than seat time. Testing should provide student and program evaluation, and immediate feedback for instruction. Any state accountability system should be grounded in fair measurement and provide longitudinal measures that enhance student achievement.
5. We support facilitating student achievement by limiting class sizes to 20, giving clear standards and expectations for each grade to all parents at the beginning of the school year, and using innovative strategies to increase parental involvement and partnership with schools.
6. We support the recruitment, retention and fair compensation of highly qualified educators. In addition, we support loan forgiveness programs encouraging teachers to work in environments that ate the most in need.
7. We call on the federal government to abolish or significantly revamp the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA/No Child Left Behind). A revamp should be supportive of districts; reduced redundant reporting; measure growth over time; support disadvantaged students; fully fund initiatives; provide multiple pathways for students; and discontinue allowing military recruiters full access to student record, absent approval by parents.
8. We oppose vouchers and all unfunded mandates.

HIGHER EDUCATION

1. We support providing access to affordable quality public higher education for all residents of the state, including the continuation of affirmative action programs, and the broader use of scholarships, loans, and grants to enable all qualified students to attend higher education and vocational programs.
2. We support funding for “Hope Scholarships” that provide incentive and reward for graduates with good grades.
3. We call upon the state and federal governments to enhance college access for disadvantaged youth by improving the ties between the K-12 education system and the higher education system.
4. We support the DREAM Act (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors), which provides state college access and in-state tuition for all state residents, regardless of documentation, if they entered the United States before the age of 16, have resided continuously in the United States for at least 3 years, have earned a high school diploma or a general education development certificate (GED) or have been admitted to an institution of higher education in the United States.

Civil rights Platform – Arapahoe County Democratic Latino Initiative
Our nation was founded upon the principles of individual rights and liberties. We believe that the individual rights of liberty and freedom have priority over the power of government. We must ensure that all citizens are protected from the abuses and intrusions of government into our personal lives.
We believe in equal protection under the law. It is imperative that our laws fully protect the equality of every individual residing under the jurisdiction of the United States regardless of race; ethnicity; national origin; gender; sexual orientation; age; religious affiliation; physical or mental differences.
We believe that our government’s duty to protect its citizens includes a duty to protect each citizen’s privacy. The government has no legitimate authority to intrude into the private lives of individuals who have not displayed evidence of being a threat to the security of others.
We believe it is imperative that the United States maintain a positive reputation in the international community. To this end, we support the development of policies domestically and internationally that are sensitive to worldwide inequalities in resource distributions and use, respects human rights, and that prioritize the long-term environmental security of the planet.
We condemn human trafficking, modern slavery, forced labor, and maintaining a segment of the population as a source of cheap labor with limited rights. Further, we support victims of these situations irrespective of their legal status in the United States, or their country of origin.
We condemn U.S. incursions into Latin America. Such incursions have disrupted the lives of the people of the respective nations and forced many of them north to become members of our underclass.
We condemn growth and development policies that relegate the least able in our society to ghettos, further marginalizing them and restricting their ability to alter their course.
We support the end of the U.S. embargo on Cuba, the normalizing of relations with the island nation, and trade agreements with Latin America that recognize that the free movement of capital must be coupled with the free movement of labor.
We support laws preventing Federal, State, and Local governments from using eminent domain to usurp property rights for the primary economic gain of a private individual, organization, or corporation.
We support a woman’s right to choose, and strongly believe that reproductive choice is a private matter between a woman and her doctor.