Yesterday morning the Green Party of California's General
Assembly adopted a revised immigration plank.
Essentially the following text was adopted by consensus.
There may be some grammar or spelling changes.

Those of you who think the border should
be militarized and walled up, and immigrants punished
for trying to survive, would be more at home in some other party.

... numerous studies show that immigrants, both documented and
undocumented, contribute greatly to the U.S. economy. It has been
proven that immigrants stimulate local economies, create jobs, and
pay far more in taxes than they receive in government benefits.

Reactionary allegations are popularized to divert discussions away from
underlying causes of U.S. economic erosion, such as the permanent decline
of labor-intensive jobs and the widening gap between rich and poor.

The Greens are traitorous Commies... the ONLY good they have done
is to split the liberal vote - otherwise Gore would have won in 2000.

a. Barrier walls between countries
are ineffective. Thus, walls along the
U.S-Mexican border should be destroyed and
their construction should be halted

Yesterday morning the Green Party of California's General
Assembly adopted a revised immigration plank.

Yesterday morning the Green Party of California's General
Assembly adopted a revised immigration plank.
Essentially the following text was adopted by consensus.
There may be some grammar or spelling changes.

There were general concerns about the thing being too long
and detailed. A couple of folks wanted explicit mention
of health care providers being forced to inform on their
patients to the INS. (We oppose that.)
There's no change in the basic position. It's just expanded and
modernized a bit.

Those of you who think the border should
be militarized and walled up, and immigrants punished
for trying to survive, would be more at home in some other party.


Cameron
Delegate to the General Assembly from Santa Clara County.



Immigration plank (under Social Justice and Livable Communities)

In California, discussions of immigration mostly center
on the Latino/a population that moves across the U.S - Mexican
border. Xenophobic responses, that were typified by Proposition 187,
claimed we "are suffering economic hardship by the presence of illegal
aliens..." To the contrary, numerous studies show that
immigrants, both documented and undocumented, contribute greatly to
the U.S. economy. It has been proven that immigrants stimulate local
economies, create jobs, and pay far more in taxes than they receive in
government benefits.

Reactionary allegations are popularized to divert discussions away from
underlying causes of U.S. economic erosion, such as the permanent decline
of labor-intensive jobs and the widening gap between rich and poor.
Both of these conditions are caused by depressed wages and working
conditions; the destruction of governmental protections that keep labor
unions viable; promoting trade agreements such as the North American
Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Central American Free Trade Agreement
(CAFTA); and the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) which
result in exporting manufacturing jobs. At the same time, global
issues such as deterioration of natural resources and the economic and
social devastation of Third World Nations by the predatory economic
policies of the United States and other developed northern countries,
multinational corporations, WTO, International Monetary Fund (IMF), World
Bank, and international trade agreements such as NAFTA and CAFTA which
serve to drive down commodity prices and to create huge economic debt with
huge interest payments are ignored as contributors to human migration.
The pressure of some 1.3 million Mexican farm families that have been
driven off their land by the combination of NAFTA and the U.S. government
subsidies to agribusiness giants has also contributed to immigration.

Discussions of immigration among politicians are currently limited
to enforcement against undocumented immigrants and building a massive
wall on the U.S-Mexican border, or restarting a guest worker program.
The reactionary response to illegal immigration has resulted in an
effort to thwart the entry of undocumented immigrants by attempting to
deprive them of a living wage; cut them off from medical care, education
and other public services; and deprive them of civil and human rights
guaranteed to all persons residing in the United States.

Building a wall will not stop illegal immigration. People are creative
and will find both legal and illegal means to cross the California-Mexico
or any border. The most effective tool would be to support the creation
of an international labor union establishing enforceable policies
including living wage, good working conditions, health benefits,
disability insurance, and worker's compensation benefits. The Green
Party is opposed to the creation of a Guest Worker Program as it
creates a permanent class of residents who are here for labor, but who
are permanently barred from becoming citizens, voting, and unionizing.

A. The Green Party supports these policies (as advocated
by Cesar Chavez) that seek to integrate, rather than
alienate, immigrant labor: we should acknowledge and
celebrate the influence of diverse cultures in the mosaic
that is the unique California culture

1. International borders should be recognized as area
of bi-national interdependence. International border
areas should be authentic fair-trade zones where
people are free to travel across borders for work,
shopping or recreation.

a. Barrier walls between countries
are ineffective. Thus, walls along the
U.S-Mexican border should be destroyed and
their construction should be halted

b. Reduce the private and public militarization
of U.S.-Mexican border

2. The Green Party supports the creation of a
multinational labor union that establishes consistent
policies in each country which ensure a living wage,
health benefits and safe working conditions.

3. The Green Party supports the principles of 'fair'
trade, rather than 'free' trade. Therefore we
support the renegotiation of: international trade
agreements such as CAFTA and NAFTA and the WTO;
the policies of the IMF, World Bank and other
international banking institutions; and the terms
and conditions of contracts with multinational
corporations; and cancellation of the crushing
international debt for highly indebted poor
countries..

4. All immigrant workers in the U.S., legal or not,
must be subject to U.S. wage, tax and labor laws
including workplace health and safety standards
as well as worker_s compensation, disability and
unemployment insurance benefits. Programs involving
temporary worker status must include the option
of permanent residency for immigrants already in
the U.S.

5. Legalization programs which provide immigrants
with the ability to obtain Permanent Residency status
should provide information on entry outlining the
legalization process timeline and should be fair,
simplified, transparent, affordable, and attainable
by at most 5 years after entry. Immediate and full
legalization should be offered for all working
immigrants and their families currently resident
within the United States.

6. Immigration quotas based on race, class and
ideology should be abandoned for immigration policies
that promote fairness, non-discrimination and family
reunification. The law must allow immigration for
reasons of political exile and refugee status.

7. Laws that exclude Mexicans should be repealed.

B. The Green Party supports policies that restore and
guarantee basic human rights to all persons residing in
the United States. All human rights must apply to all
races and ethnicities equally.


1. We oppose the continuing legislative trend of
reducing and/or denying services that are available
to all other workers.

2. We advocate voting rights for permanent residents,
as was the law prior to World War I.

3. All immigrants, regardless of status, have the
right to receive medical care, education, housing and
access to all available public benefits and services.

4. Interpreters should be available in emergency
rooms, hospitals and health care clinics.

5. All immigrants, regardless of status have the
right to apply for a driver's license without
immigration status notification or restriction.

6. Racial profiling should be ended. The rights of
all races and ethnicities in California should be
all equal human rights.

C. The Green Party supports policies that restore
and guarantee the civil rights provided for under the
Constitution of the United States which specifically
states that the rights apply to all persons residing in
the United States. All civil rights must apply to all
races and ethnicities equally.


1. All immigrants, regardless of status, have 1st
amendment rights of freedom of speech, and the
freedom of assembly and association.

2. For all civil and criminal hearings, all
immigrants have due process rights to be informed of
the charges brought against them, to confront their
accusers, to have competent legal representation
and to have a speedy trial. All immigrants have
the right to free interpreter assistance for all
legal proceedings. These rights must also apply to
the deportation internment and hearing process.

3. The use of force or torture or other means to
compel testimony against themselves, or to obtain
confessions must be banned.

4. All immigrants have the right to be secure in
their houses, and protected against unreasonable
search and seizure.

5. All immigrants must be protected against arbitrary
arrest or detention based on racial or cultural
profiling.

6. All immigrants have the right to be protected
against intimidation by public officials or private
individuals. Enforcement of immigration laws is
the responsibility of the Federal Immigration
and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE). Requiring
local law enforcement agencies to serve as adjunct
immigration agents of the Federal Immigration and
Custom Enforcement agency must be banned.