THE DEKALB COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY
MONTHLY BREAKFAST MEETING

SATURDAY, JANUARY 21,2012
Piccadilly Cafeteria
Northlake Parkway
Tucker, Georgia
At 9 a.m.

An informal meeting, where you can one-on-one with your local elected officials and network with fellow Democrats!

Would love to see you there!

DEKALB COUNTY DEMOCRATS                                           March 23, 2011

Whereas low-cost immigrant labor is vital to the survival and success of our agricultural industry that puts affordable and quality food on our tables, and a mass exportation of undocumented workers would lead to a significant shortage of agricultural workers, leaving crops unharvested and driving up food prices drastically;

And whereas conservative Americans such as Michael Bloomberg and Fox News owner Rupert Murdock (an immigrant himself) favor immigration reform at the national level and testified before congress that “we need immigrants” and “it’s the future of America”, and Murdoch and Bloomberg lead a coalition of businesses and mayors to push for immigration reform which provides a path to legal status for those in the U.S. without documentation;

And whereas undocumented immigrants strengthen the U.S. economy by keeping productivity high, purchasing goods and services, and countering the impacts of our aging and shrinking U.S. population now retiring at a time when there are fewer workers to pay into Social Security, Medicare, and other vital U.S. programs;

And whereas policies geared towards “sealing the border” or deporting the undocumented without reforming the immigration system and providing a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants already in the country would cost hundreds of billions of dollars in taxes and have a devastating impact on the economy;

And whereas undocumented immigrants pay sales taxes and property taxes either through mortgages or rent, and the majority pay income taxes, Social Security and Medicare taxes which most of them will probably never receive, and these contributions amount to billions of dollars into the U.S. Treasury every year;

And whereas the Southern Baptist Convention and the Roman Catholic Church officially support comprehensive immigration reform at the federal level, and emphasize “compassion”, “respect”, and “dignity” to those living in the U.S. without documentation;

And whereas the vast majority of undocumented immigrants speak little English, are low skilled, are uneducated and secure the worst paying jobs, and are therefore very unlikely to take the jobs of American workers, most of whom speak English and have completed a high school education;

And whereas undocumented immigrants are not eligible for and cannot obtain tax funded public services including welfare, food stamps, Medicare and Medicaid;

And whereas undocumented immigrants, who fear extradition if they are arrested, have been documented to commit far fewer crimes than native-born Americans;

And whereas undocumented workers avoid Emergency Rooms because they don’t speak English and fear deportation;

And whereas recent studies have shown that in the four months since Arizona passed a similar harsh immigration law the state has lost an estimated $141 million in visitor spending;

And whereas immigrants have been coming to this country without documentation since the pilgrims first landed on Plymouth Rock, including the vast majority of the ancestors of today’s native-born Americans;

And whereas draconian anti-immigrant legislation currently before the Georgia State Legislature will cause the same damage to the Georgia economy as has been experienced by Arizona, is based on deliberate deception designed to scapegoat the innocent and powerless, and clearly harms “the least of these”;

And whereas the Obama administration has stated that federal immigration law expressly pre-empts any state law contrary to federal guidelines;

Therefore be it resolved that the DeKalb County Democratic Party strongly opposes the excessive, insensitive, ill-conceived, costly, and irrational immigration law currently before the Georgia State Senate; and be it further

Resolved that the DeKalb County Democratic Party supports a national solution and calls for comprehensive immigration reform at the federal level that respects the dignity of all persons, is based on the fundamental principles in the Constitution of the United States of America, recognizes economic reality, and provides a viable and lasting solution to the very complex ongoing issue of immigration.