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Two alternative proposals are presented for point 4 which reflect the two different stands by the major trade union federations.]

K. Immigration / Emigration

We must never forget that we are a nation of immigrants, a rich tapestry of nationalities, races, religions and creeds who have come together to forge a new, classless society based on equality of opportunity and the individual freedoms and inalienable rights protected by our Constitution.

Immigration and particularly the large number of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. has become a hot political issue. Laws to oppress immigrants have been proposed in the Congress. Millions of immigrants and supporters of justice for immigrants have marched in the streets. Politicians have stirred up anti-immigrant sentiment among sections of the U.S. population.

It also must be acknowledged that the trigger for such an influx of immigrants in this country has been largely due to unfair US trade policies. If it were economically possible to provide for their families many would choose to remain in their native countries. Any immigration policy should be seen a way to address these people’s humanitarian needs as we undue the damage to local communities and chart a course toward sustainable local economies.

Also the economic contributions that current immigrants make under current policies should not be overlooked. Many complaints about immigrants stem from the misbelief that they are entitled to or receive services from the government without having to pay for them. - about 1/2 of the undocumented immigrants here are paid on the books w/false ss numbers- these workers do not play a role in driving salaries down and they pay taxes-and they pay into social security which can never be claimed (reference: www.immigrationforum.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=724) The Social Security Administration’s (SSA) chief actuary estimates that three quarters of undocumented immigrants pay Social Security tax, an estimate that makes undocumented workers responsible for about 1.5% of total wages reported to the SSA.

Taxes paid by undocumented immigrants go into the SSA’s “suspense file,” when the Social Security number does not match SSA’s records. In 2002, the suspense file grew by $56 billion in reported earnings, with about $7 billion in Social Security tax and $1.5 billion in Medicare tax paid. This tax contribution represents about 10% of the current Social Security surplus—the difference between what is being collected in Social Security taxes and what is being paid out in benefits. )

In this situation the GPUS stands firmly for social justice for all those living in this country regardless of their immigration status. Above all, policy and law must be humane, Anything less would be inconsistent with our Green Values, and with our nation’s values.

The GPUS accepts as a goal a world in which persons can freely choose to live in and work in any county he or she desires. We recognize that this would be impractical without reciprocity between nations. We seek that reciprocity as a practical goal. Countries do have a right to know the identity of persons seeking to enter. They also have the right to limit who can come in to protect public safety.

The U.S. needs a complete overhaul of its immigration laws. Our current situation has created extreme social injustice. Millions of people are living and working in the U.S. with no legal status, making them subject to extreme exploitation and abuse. Immigration raids are terrorizing the immigrant community. Families are being broken up. Employer abuses of undocumented workers are rampant. Here are the principles we feel should be included in a just immigration reform.

The Green Party must consider immigration issues from an international standpoint, taking into account international labor and environmental standards, and human rights.

1. The undocumented immigrants who are already here should be granted a legal status which includes the chance to become U.S. citizens. The level of fees required for this process should not be a burden on low income workers. [Arizona proposal inserted here.] In any path to citizenship created to provide an orderly and appropriate resolution of the status of persons currently in the United States without proper documentation, we demand a recognition of past, uncredited payments into the Social Security System as part of any fees assessed for regularization of status.

2. In regard to who should have a right to come and live and work in the U.S. we believe the following policies are fair.
   1. In relation to all countries with which “free trade” agreements are in effect, any citizen of those countries whose identity can be traced and verified should be entitled to a border pass to come and go from the U.S. as this person desires (subject to the limited public safety concerns mentioned above). Work permits for these persons must be easily obtainable. This applies particularly to our neighbors, Canada and Mexico.
   2. All persons fleeing political, racial, religious, or other types of persecution must be welcomed and given permanent resident status. The history of arbitrary denial of political asylum claims must be ended. Particular attention should be given to those minorities who are political exiles and refugees and those whose lives would be at risk if asylum is not granted.
   3. Family reunification must be a priority in accepting applications for permanent residency. The years of waiting that families are currently put through must be ended.
   4. Permanent residency should not be denied based on political views, racial or national origin, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, disability, or any other arbitrary basis.
   5. There are many countries in the world where the economic policies and military actions of the U.S. government or U.S. based corporations have caused extreme hardships. The peoples of these countries deserve special consideration if they wish to come to the U.S. to escape intolerable conditions created by our government or U.S, corporations.

3. Recognizing that a just reform of immigration policy may take some time, the GPUS supports:
   1. Measures to allow undocumented immigrants to obtain drivers licenses if they can prove their identity and pass the required tests. This will improve road safety and allow the undocumented who are driving in any case to obtain insurance.
   2. Measures to give legal status to undocumented immigrants who graduate from high school in the U.S. to allow them to attend public or private colleges and universities on an equal basis with other high school graduates.
   3. Reduce wait lists and make the system work more efficiently: current numeric caps on immigrant visas must be increased. The current system of quotas and preferences has to be thoroughly and realistically reformed. Current backlogs must be brought up to date as soon as possible. Wait times for processing and resolving immigration benefit applications should be reduced to no more than six months. Pre-1996 screening criteria for legal permanent residency and citizenship applications should be restored.

4. [Alternate proposals are presented here.]
   1. [Version 1] Guest worker programs are required when workers wish to work in the US but do not want to be forced to give up their citizenship in their home countries, workers who sincerely are not seeking a path to US citizenship. Such programs must adequately protect the labor rights of these workers.
   2. [Version 2] The GPUS does not believe that it is possible to design a temporary worker program that will adequately protect the labor rights of these workers. If workers are needed in particular industries they must get permanent residency.

5. As is dealt with elsewhere in this platform, the concern about immigrant workers competing for jobs with citizens must be met by a substantial increase in the minimum wage and by strictly enforcing and expanding the rights of all workers to form unions.

6. We advocate an end to employer sanctions, which have been shown to hurt not only undocumented workers but also U.S.-born workers (especially those of color).

7. Greens oppose "English-only" legislation. When interaction with the government is limited to the English speaking, persons are put at additional risk of exploitation. Particularly, the language rights of peoples who were in this land before it become American soil must be recognized. We advocate legislation to ensure that federal funds marked for communities to provide ESL (English as second language) training, and health and social support services to immigrants actually go to them. When funds are spent in other areas, immigrants are being deprived of benefits that they earn as productive workers in their communities.

8. Courts, social service agencies, and all government agencies dealing with the public must provide trained and certified translators.

9. We are against building a wall between the U.S. and Mexico. This will further intensify the human rights disaster our immigration policy has become as well as a disaster for the border ecosystems.

10. We oppose those who seek to divide us for political gain by raising ethnic and racial hatreds, and by blaming immigrants for social and economic problems.[Arizona proposal] We demand an immediate end to policies designed to force undocumented border crossers into areas where environmental conditions mean dramatically increased risk of permanent injury or death, and mean greater degradation of fragile environments, and the cutting off of corridors needed by wildlife for migration within their habitat. For these reasons we specifically oppose the walling off of both traditional urban crossing areas and of wilderness areas.

    [Arizona proposal] We demand recognition of sovereignty in determining the independent status of their members by indigenous nations whose people would otherwise be separated by the border demarcations of more recent nations.