FAIR’s Analysis of Bernie Sanders’ Immigration Plan

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who is seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination for president, released his immigration plan entitled “A Fair and Humane Immigration Policy.” (Bernie Sanders Immigration Plan) FAIR offers the following analysis of the plan on five key immigration issues: amnesty; legal immigration; border security; interior enforcement; and taxpayer benefits to illegal aliens.

Amnesty: The core of Sanders’s immigration plan is mass amnesty for the 12 million illegal aliens in the country. Although lacking details, Sanders says he will “ensure that the roadmap to citizenship is inclusive… and does not contain arbitrary cut off eligibility dates and application periods.” He specifically states that “non-violent” criminal illegal alien offenders should be eligible for amnesty. Notably, Sanders supports an expedited path to citizenship, insisting that illegal aliens be able to obtain a green card and U.S. citizenship within five years with an even faster track for so-called DREAMers. In the absence of legislation, he would allow all illegal aliens who claim to have lived in the country unlawfully for at least five years (approximately 9 million according to Sanders) to qualify for the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) and expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) amnesty programs. Next, Sanders will expand the Obama administration’s use of parole-in-place (which has no statutory authority) for illegal alien “relatives” of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents and grant deferred action to “relatives” who overstayed their visas and remain in the country unlawfully. Finally, Sanders will use humanitarian parole to allow certain previously deported illegal aliens to return to the country…

Read more of this analysis on Bernie Sanders’ stand on immigration on FAIRus.org: Where Do the Presidential Hopefuls Stand on Immigration?