Green Party US - Press Release

The Green Party of the United States, expressing outrage over deplorable and inhumane conditions in migrant camps, demands the U.S. government follow U.N. protocols regarding the humanitarian treatment of migrants and refugees, and further condemns the criminalization of humanitarian assistance to migrants.

Green leaders are especially dismayed over reports of inhumane conditions in which children are being held. Children seeking refuge are being separated from their families, placed into concentration camps and denied basic supplies.  Horrific conditions have led to the deaths of at least six children since the beginning of this year. Children are suffering due to inadequate food, water and sanitation and extreme temperatures in conditions described by one physician as “torture facilities.”  John Sanders, acting commission of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said today that he will resign on July 5.

The Green Party is calling for a peaceful resolution to tensions with Iran as a series of recent events has unfolded into an escalating crisis between the two countries.

A June 13th attack on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman has been blamed on Iran by the U.S., as well as allies and critics. On June 19th, Iranian forces downed an unarmed U.S. Navy RQ-4 Global Hawk spy drone over the Strait of Hormuz, asserting that it had traveled into Iranian air space.

TUCSON, Az., June 14, 2019 — On Wednesday the Green Party of Pima County (GPPC) filed a lawsuit against the City of Tucson for depriving the party of ballot status in the upcoming elections on November 5, 2019. The Green Party is legally entitled to representation in the 2019 election but has been left off the roles and will not be on the ballot if the City has its way.

The City of Tucson has attempted to unlawfully suppress the voice of the Green Party of Pima County and deprive 262,000 registered voters in Tucson from hearing and voting for Green Party solutions to the political and economic challenges facing our community.

June 13, 2019, New York City — The Green Party of New York (GPNY) said last night's vote on a ballot measure to introduce ranked-choice voting (RCV) for New York City municipal primaries and special elections was disappointing, as commissioners voted 8-6 against applying RCV to general elections. Party officers praised the six commissioners, including Democrat Sal Albanese and Republican Stephen J. Fiala, who made a strong case for RCV in all municipal elections for New York City voters.

The Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) Steering Committee has urged the closing of the Family Detention Center in Berks County, PA, where immigrants have been imprisoned for the last five years. To accomplish this closing, GPPA has joined the PA Immigration and Citizenship Coalition.

"The Green Party will break the deadlock created by the two corporate parties," said GPPA Co-chair Sheri Miller from Adams County. "Undocumented immigrants and their families, who are residing in the U.S., should be granted legal status with a chance to become U.S. citizens. All citizens of Canada and Mexico should have permanent border passes, and immigration for work should be decriminalized.

• Greens Deplore Conviction of Cheri Honkala as attack on First Amendment rights

Green Party leaders responded to yesterday's ruling in the case of United states vs. Honkala with strong words of condemnation for government officials involved and strong support for Honkala. On June 10, 2019, a federal court in Washington, D.C., issued a guilty verdict in the case, finding former Green Party Vice Presidential candidate Cheri Honkala guilty of charges of trespassing. Honkala is an internationally-known activist and founder of the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign (PPEHRC).

• Schedule of Events for Media at the Green Party's 2019 Annual National Meeting in Salem, Massachusetts, July 25-28

• Faults Democrats for Delay on Single Payer Health Care, Marijuana Legalization, Rent Control

ALBANY — The Green Party of New York (GPNY) demanded that New York State Democrats in Albany enact the strongest climate change legislation possible rather than taking half-steps that would not prevent catastrophic climate change.

The Green Party of the United States congratulated Green Parties throughout Europe for their strong showing in the recent elections for European Parliament, where the Greens won 71 seats, up from 52.

News reports said that the "Green Wave" was driven by the party's strong climate agenda. The party polled particularly well among young voters and in cities.

The Green Party strongly protests the arrests today of individuals inside the Venezuelan Embassy. Members of the organization Embassy Protection Collective had been staying inside the embassy since April 10, 2019, with permission of the embassy. Their objective was to help prevent a U.S. administration-aided effort by the Venezuelan opposition to take over the embassy. Several members of the Green Party were part of the organization.

The Green Party strongly opposes the U.S. administration's support of an attempted military coup in Venezuela. According to the Associated Press, opposition leader and self-proclaimed President Juan Guaido launched a military coup attempt against the Nicolas Maduro government about 7:30 am (EDT) this morning. While details are scarce, the action appears to have only limited military support.

The Green Party joins with the United Nations in recognition of Nicolás Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela.

• President Trump’s Yemen Veto Turns Our Constitution Upside-down

The Green Party Peace Action Committee calls on the US House and Senate to overturn the President's veto by the required two-thirds majority to not only end our involvement in the immoral war in Yemen, but to reclaim congressional authority over the imperial presidency. “This war is yet another in a string of illegal wars carried on by the US without the declaration of war by Congress, as required under the US Constitution in Article I Section 8,” said B. Keith Brumley, Secretary of the Wisconsin Green Party, “Congress has not declared war since 1941.”

• Celebrate Earth Day 2019 By Supporting the Green Party's Green New Deal

San Francisco, CA – The Green Party of California released the following statement today on Earth Day 2019.

In 1969, a three million gallon oil spill despoiled the coast of Santa Barbara and was the impetus for the creation of Earth Day. On April 22, 1970, twenty million people in the United States took part in Earth Day events and vowed to protect our only home. This year, it is expected that almost one billion people will recognize Earth Day, but it isn't enough. Only a few countries are to blame and ours is one of them.

• Greens blast corporate cash-in from looming climate disasters and economic collapse; call for new economic paradigm to address effects of climate change.
  
  
• Betting on disaster brings profit for a few while the public pays the real cost in terms of pubic health and infrastructure.
  
  
• A Green New Deal will provide “green jobs” to aid transition away from fossil fuel economy.

The Green Party has a long history of supporting renewable energy and conservation as tools in the struggle against climate change. The platform of the Green Party of the U.S. calls for "a rapid reduction in energy consumption through energy efficiency and a decisive transition away from fossil fuels and nuclear power toward cleaner, renewable, local energy sources."

Unfortunately, the nuclear power industry has been seeking another bailout from taxpayers. So far, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York have agreed, and the industry is now asking Pennsylvania taxpayers for a similar bailout. Their request can be found in PA House Bill 11 (HB 11), introduced by Rep. Thomas "Three-Mile-Island" Mehaffie (R-Dauphin), and in PA Senate Bill 510 (SB 510), introduced by Sen. Ryan P. Aument (R-Lancaster).

• Strong Support For Wikileaks Publisher's Immediate Release Among Michigan Greens

(DETROIT, MI – 04/15/2019) Leaders and members of the Green Party of Michigan issued strong reactions to the arrest of Wikileaks publisher Julian Assange by Metropolitan Police officers last Thursday. Greens cited journalistic freedoms and whistleblower protections should be available to Assange, who has been confined inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since 2012.

San Francisco, CA – The Green Party of California released the following statement today on Green Solutions for Governor Newsom's Climate Crisis Challenges

For Earth Day 2019, the Green Party of California reaffirms its commitment to ecological wisdom and social justice, as two of the four pillars set forth by the Green Party of the United States. The current climate crisis that has brought wildfires and floods to our communities is the result of decades of profit-focused energy and environmental policies by our elected officials.  In California, low-income communities and communities of color are most likely to live near refineries, fracking wells, flood-prone and fire-prone areas, leaving them most vulnerable to the catastrophic impact of climate change.

Green Party Members Organize Protest at UK Embassy in Washington, DC at 5:00 p.m. today

The Green Party of the United States strongly and unequivocally condemns the arrest of Julian Assange and calls for his immediate release. Assange was expelled from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London this morning and is being held in the United Kingdom for extradition to the United States, where he is very likely to face espionage charges. Assange is the publisher of Wikileaks, which published documents exposing US war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan, human rights violations at the Guantanamo Bay prison and State Department cables that showed corporate corruption of US foreign policy.

As the April 15th federal tax filing deadline arrives, Greens blast impending bipartisan legislation blocking the IRS from creating a free, public electronic tax filing system.

Under pressure from lobbyists from for-profit tax preparation companies, the House Ways and Means Committee passed the H.R. 1957, the Taxpayer First Act, on April 11. If approved by the Senate, the wide-ranging bill would make several administrative changes to the IRS. One of the bill’s key provisions would make it illegal for the IRS to create its own online system of tax filing.

The Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA) stands against PA House of Representative Bill 33 (HB 33) which -- if passed -- will end General Assistance to the poor.

General Assistance is for low-income residents who need help, but don’t qualify for traditional welfare because they don’t have dependents. Currently, there are more than 6,600 enrollees in the program. More than half of them live in Philadelphia. Allegheny County has the next most enrollees. For instance: