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The Democratic Party of Denver this week called on Congress to enact comprehensive immigration reform that offers a path to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants.

At its monthly meeting on Tuesday, the Democratic Party of Denver said the current system is “steeped in 44-year-old assumptions dating back to legislation created in 1965 that no longer addresses contemporary realities.”

The group backed a resolution calling for a pathway to citizenship for as many as 12 million illegal immigrants, and to reunite families that have been separated as the result of work place raids, such as the one at the Swift & Co meatpacking plant in Greeley in 2006.

“Immigration reform is arguably one of the foremost Civil Rights issues we face in the United States and in Colorado today,” said Cindy Lowery, chair of the Democratic Party of Denver. “No longer can we sit idly by and insist this issue be resolved on the federal level. I am proud that the Democratic Party of Denver has passed this resolution calling for a humane, fair, and comprehensive response from our elected officials on immigration reform.”

Lowery criticized state lawmakers for failing to pass legislation that would have offered in-state college tuition to illegal immigrants. The Tuition Equity bill failed in the Senate this year, just as it has on three previous occasions.

“The failure to pass meaningful legislation such as the Tuition Equity Bill is seen as a squandering of our investment in the youth who have attended U.S. schools, who have been acculturated to American society, and who represent the promise of our country’s intellectual capital and competitiveness in a global market,” read a statement from the Democratic Party of Denver.

But former Congressman Tom Tancredo, an outspoken critic of illegal immigration, said there already exists a path to citizenship for immigrants.

“There is a pathway to citizenship, we’ve had it for a long, long time,” he said. “It’s called, ‘Come in the door marked immigration, legal immigration.’”

President Barack Obama has signaled his support for immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship. Bipartisan committees have assembled to develop legislation that is expected to be brought forward by as early as the fall.

Population explosion?

Critics, however, say legalizing millions of illegal immigrants would lead to population explosions that would lower wages for American workers and drain the nation’s resources. The nation’s illegal immigrant population has been estimated to be as high as 25 million.

In addition to providing a pathway to citizenship and reuniting families that have been separated as a result of raids, the Democratic Party of Denver also demanded in its resolution that Congress increase the number of visas for short-term workers; extend legal protections — such as collective bargaining — to all working immigrants; and eliminate privately operated detention centers.

Tancredo, however, says the Democratic Party of Denver is using the resolution as a form of political posturing.

“This is typical of a party that couldn’t care less about the rule of law,” he said. “Its primary focus is increasing its numbers, and they know that most immigrants coming into this country vote Democrat, and they want to increase those numbers — they know they will vote Democrat, period.”

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