Ohio Green Party of the United States
CONTACTS:
Philena Farley, Co-chair, pifbits@ohiogreens.org, 614-859-9147
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 30, 2026
Ohio Green Party Calls for Abolishing ICE and Redirecting Resources to Climate Emergency Response
Columbus, Ohio. The Ohio Green Party is calling for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and a fundamental reorientation of federal resources away from militarized immigration enforcement and toward climate resilience, disaster response, and community well‑being.
With the Doomsday Clock now set to 85 seconds to midnight, the world is closer to global catastrophe than at any time in history. This historic warning underscores how urgently we must confront the interconnected threats of climate chaos, nuclear escalation, and authoritarianism. While communities across the United States face record‑breaking storms, floods, fires, and infrastructure failures, our federal government continues to pour billions of dollars into ICE raids, detention centers, and militarized operations that terrorize families instead of keeping anyone safe.
“Every dollar spent on ICE is a dollar not spent on disaster relief, flood protection, resilient food systems, and green infrastructure,” said Philena Farley, co‑chair for the Ohio Green Party. “In the face of an 85‑seconds‑to‑midnight world, the choice is stark. We can fund climate safety and human rights, or we can fund fear and repression. We cannot do both.”
Recent events have highlighted the deep dysfunction, violence, and lack of accountability within the Department of Homeland Security and ICE. Instead of protecting the public, ICE and related agencies have become instruments of political theater and racialized policing, undermining civil liberties while doing nothing to address the real emergencies our communities face: climate disasters, poisoned air and water, crumbling infrastructure, and growing economic inequality.
The Ohio Green Party calls for:
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Abolishing ICE and ending the use of immigration raids, mass detention, and militarized enforcement.
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Redirecting ICE’s budget and personnel toward climate mitigation, disaster preparedness, emergency response, and support for climate refugees and displaced families.
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Demilitarizing federal agencies and investing in local, community‑based resilience: public health systems, green housing, clean energy, and sustainable transportation.
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Protecting whistleblowers, journalists, and community organizers who expose abuses by federal agencies.
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Building a humane, rights‑based immigration system that recognizes migration as a human reality in the era of climate breakdown, not a crime.
“Ohio is already living with the consequences of climate neglect, from extreme weather to toxic spills,” said Philena Farley, State Co‑Chair. “We don’t need more agents with guns. We need more nurses, engineers, first responders, and community organizers funded to protect people and the planet. The arrest of journalist Don Lemon today for his coverage of an anti‑ICE protest in Minnesota is a stark reminder that when federal resources are poured into policing dissent and silencing the press, real emergencies like climate breakdown and community safety are left behind.”
The Ohio Green Party stands in solidarity with national movements to Abolish ICE and with all communities targeted by state violence. We affirm that real security comes from justice, ecological sustainability, and democracy, not from cages, raids, or fear.
In this moment of profound global danger, symbolized by the 85‑second‑to‑midnight Doomsday Clock, we call on elected officials at every level, including Ohio’s congressional delegation, to reject the politics of scapegoating and instead champion policies that preserve life, protect the climate, and uphold human rights.
About the Ohio Green Party
The Ohio Green Party is committed to grassroots democracy, social justice, ecological wisdom, and nonviolence. We work for a future in which all people can live with dignity, in harmony with the Earth, and free from fear of state violence.
References
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. “Doomsday Clock at 85 seconds to midnight (2026).” Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, January 27, 2026.
https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/
USC Dornsife. “Momentum in the Movement to Abolish ICE.” August 13, 2018.
https://dornsife.usc.edu/eri/2018/08/13/momentum-in-the-movement-to-abolish-ice/
Green Party of the United States. “Abolish ICE.” June 10, 2025.
https://www.gp.org/abolish_ice
Green Party of the United States. “Greens and Groups Call on Biden to Sign Nuclear Ban Treaty on 2nd Anniversary and 2023 Doomsday Clock Announcement.” January 23, 2023.
https://www.gp.org/greens_and_groups_call_on_biden_to_sign_nuclear_ban_treaty
New York Times. “Federal Agents Arrest Don Lemon Over Minnesota Church Protest.” January 30, 2026.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/us/don-lemon-arrest-minnesota-church-protest.html