Greenwich Democratic Town Committee Chair Jeffrey Ramer led a discussion with senior house students at Stanwich School about Democratic values and the upcoming elections.
Students were given the opportunity to ask questions regarding terrorism, immigration reform and other issues surrounding another election year.
“There is no political party that wants inefficiency,” said Ramer in response to a question thrown at him. “Every political party would like government to be as effective at solving the problems as possible. But there are differences in the opinions of how much government should be involved and how much it shouldn’t.”
Ramer didn’t argue details over opposing viewpoints on the issues, but rather left it up to the students to arrive at their own political judgment.
“In most advanced countries, like if you go to Germany, England and France, they send their students to university in a less expansive way than the United States,” said Ramer when asked about college tuition. “The cost of university is fundamentally free. Can you imagine that? Your parents are cowering right now at the $55,000 per year checks they may be writing to send you to wherever it is that you are going to go.”
He explained the uniqueness of the United States and the common insurmountable debt that college graduates face when coming out of school.
“In my particular party, we’ve been espousing the idea that government should be stepping forward in making these things less of a burden,” explained Ramer. “There ought to be alternative paths.”
Speaking on immigration reform, Ramer took a question and asked the group of students to raise their hands if they were full-blooded American Indians.
After no hands went up, Ramer continued, “Every single one of you is either an immigrant or a descendant of an immigrant. Me too.”
Ramer cited figures from the Department of Homeland Security, saying that more than three percent of the nation’s population is made up of undocumented immigrants.
“About two-thirds of our [undocumented] immigrants have been here for more than 10 years,” said Ramer. “It means that these people have jobs, places of residency, social networks and children. Those children born in the United States are U.S. citizens.”
The DTC chair outlined a three-year deferment plan for undocumented immigrants who do not have a criminal background and for those who have had permanent residence here for five years or longer. He compared and contrasted the two political sides of the issue, briefly explaining the Republican point of view, which calls for mass deportation and strict re-entry guidelines.
“These are your personal philosophies and your personal choices,” said Ramer. “You’re going to have to make these decisions for yourself.”
Ramer gave his own opinion on where the reform of immigration could be patched up in the nation’s current system.
“To a large part, I think the Immigration and Naturalization Services have been an underfunded and poorly functioning department,” said Ramer. “I think in large measure, one has to understand how you maintain a surveillance and control of people entering the country.”
“Myself, I’m not frightened by immigration,” added Ramer. “I embrace immigration. I find that Latinos, some legal and some perhaps [undocumented], who have come and worked at your place of business, I’ve found these people to be hard-working and polite. I’m not frightened at having those people entering my country. I think they are an enrichment to our country. I’m certainly cautious about people coming here with a criminal background, and that’s where we want to be able to have a functioning Immigration and Naturalization Service and a functioning intelligence service as well.”
The Republican Town Committee Chair, Stephen Walko, joined the Stanwich School students last week in a similar assembly to senior house students.
