We believe:

• That USPS should be adequately funded to serve the public-at-large, from secure processing and timely delivery of mail (including election mail-in ballots) to provision of money-orders and postal banking services, and that such funding be secured with the same financial assistance to USPS of annual Congressional appropriations covering both retirement and health care benefits that is provided ALL other federal governmental agencies; 
• That the United States Postal Service (USPS) is vital to a functioning democracy, that the services it now provides and could provide are an integral and a critical infrastructure base to the operations and survival of our collective community — local to national, urban to rural — and are of especial necessity to underserved urban and geographically dispersed rural populations
• The USPS must not be privatized;

Foreign Policy 

• Removing the requirement to fully fund the 40 pension of new and current hires that was meant to cripple and bankrupt the Postal Service 
• The United States must provide assistance and work cooperatively with other nations to build a more peaceful, sustainable, and stable world by addressing root causes of conflict, including poverty, inequitable access to natural resources, economic injustice, and environmental degradation;
• The United States should formalize a trading alliance of modern democracies, open to growth as more nations modernize, to consistently promote human rights, the rule of law, and genuine democracy inside its member-nations and across the world. This is an effective way to proactively promote accountability, stability, peace, and prosperity for all in our ever-more interconnected world.  
• In using foreign aid to offset or forgive the onerous debt of countries forced to choose between debt repayment and essential services;
• The United States must work closely and persistently with other countries to prevent or stop genocide wherever it occurs;
• We must recognize failures to stop prior genocides and therefore must act to prevent war crimes and human rights violations before they are officially recognized as genocide.
• The United States should provide full support and funding of our State Department as the primary foreign policy arm of the U.S. Government;
• Promotion of global security must include greater access to education, both basic and continuing education;

• The United States should adopt international fair trade agreements that strengthen human rights, respect the rights of indigenous peoples, raise global standards for labor rights, and promote environmental strategies, as part of a sustainable global economy and contain meaningful enforcement mechanisms to protect people and the planet;

• In exhausting diplomatic efforts before resorting to military action or war
• The Geneva Conventions should be enforced through all levels of command, within both US and supported foreign military, in the protection of civilians and the treatment of all prisoners of war enemy, combatants, and detainees, regardless of the location of their incarceration;
• The Geneva Conventions should be enforced through all levels of command, in the treatment of all prisoners of war, enemy combatants, non-combatants, and detainees, regardless of the location of their incarceration or their nationality or lack thereof;
• The United States should sign and ratify the United Nations Convention on Cluster Munitions, and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty;
• The U.S. must not preemptively use any nuclear weapons;
• The U.S. should promote peace through multilateral peacekeeping missions and helping to restore the infrastructure and economies of countries impacted by U.S. military conflicts;

• We must protect our nation from external threats without suppressing human rights at home and abroad we must reject torture, extraordinary rendition, abduction and detention in secret prisons,  supporting foreign military or police forces;
• The rights, laws, and interests of governments and workers should be prioritized over the interests of private corporations;
• The U.S. should not impose forced austerity measures, including privatization of government services, as a condition of U.S. aid and U.S. support for loans through the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank;
• The United States must honor and ratify international treaties that protect civilian populations, refugees, and human rights, and address climate change and prevent genocide;
• The United States must pursue serious, full, constructive, and persistent engagement to promote negotiations and other actions that will lead to a peaceful, sustainable resolution of conflicts in the middle east, Ukraine/NATO, Taiwan/China Sea, Korea, Africa, Latin America, Caribbean (Haiti);
• Palestinians, like all other peoples, have the right to self-determination, to life, liberty, security; freedom from torture, cruelty, degrading treatment, arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile; and every other right established by the 1948 UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR);
• The United States must apply the Leahy Law universally, granting no special status to any country.

• The United States must pursue serious, full, constructive, and persistent United States engagement to promote negotiations and other actions that will lead to a peaceful, sustainable resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, based on mutual recognition and ensuring security, economic growth, and quality of life for the peoples of the sovereign state of Palestine and the sovereign state of Israel;
• The US should not provide military aid, weapons, military service members, or other support to governments that are indiscriminately killing civilians in violation of international law regardless if enemy combatants are intermixed with civilians.
• The US shall not provide military aid (financial and otherwise) to governments that target aid workers or the press. If the press is not safe to report on the military operations of a government then the US shall not provide aid.
• The United States should acknowledge and support the Global Indigenous Council in their mission to support and preserve Indigenous cultures around the globe.

Military and Veterans Affairs 

• Military leaders should follow rules and regulations ensuring service  on ensuring members rights and protections;
• Military service members are entitled to adequate and ongoing education about their rights under the U.S. Constitution and UCMJ;
• Military service members should be free to exercise their own religious beliefs, while respecting the beliefs of others;
• We believe the United States should support the nation of Ukraine in defense against military aggression, restoration of all occupied land, and obtaining full restitution for war damages.
• Our military service members are entitled to serve with a clear mission and adequate resources and protections, including:
  • Military leaders should follow the basic training program rules on respect for the common dignity and civil rights of human beings;
  • Military personnel should be protected from reprisals for refusing to follow illegal orders;
  • Palestinians have the right to self-determination, to establish and govern their own sovereign state. 
  • Military personnel and all others who rely on Tricare and military medical facilities have the right to make their own reproductive decisions, with the same rights accorded to civilians regardless of gender;
  • The United National Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) is vital to provide humanitarian aid and should be funded by the United States. 
  • Funding should be increased for investigative units under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) for full prosecution of all sexual assaults, and of harassment based on gender, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation, by military personnel; 
  • In cases of alleged sexual assault between members of the US military, the direct chain should be removed from jurisdiction over either the complainant or the accused;
  • Discrimination within the United States Armed Forces based on gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation must be prevented;
  • Troops must be accorded mandatory breaks between combat-related tours;
• Veterans must be given adequate support, including:
  • Training and education in how to appropriately function in a civil society prior to release;
  • Active outreach to provide access to housing and services for homeless veterans, and to enable homeless veteran communities to be established through alternative shelter opportunities;
  • Adequate funding for physical and mental rehabilitation and long-term care and treatment of veterans, including treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury;
  • Veterans preference in hiring, and requiring employers with government contracts to have a veteran’s set-aside in hiring to fulfill those contracts;
  • Dedicated education, job training and apprenticeship programs for veterans and family members, that will partner with labor and industry to provide an immediate transition into guaranteed employment;
  • Modernizing the VA hiring process in particular, and USA Jobs in general, to match private-sector practices for applicant processing and hiring completion while maintaining equal employment opportunity, nondiscrimination, and veteran’s preferences currently in place;
  • Providing all veterans with full, timely, and no-cost treatment at local military or VA medical facilities, or emergency rooms and urgent care throughout the state, especially in rural areas, regardless of the nature/character of their discharge, and providing retraining for those who are disabled;
  • Veterans services should be provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs, except where essential to provide care in rural clinics and other situations covered under the Veterans Choice Act; 
  • Combat should be conducted only by uniformed military personnel; 
  • Government contracts should be awarded based on fair and competitive bidding, with preference given to U.S. companies and veteran-, minority-, women-owned small businesses; 

Immigration

• The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency should be reformed to insure humane treatment ;
• The United States Congress should pass comprehensive reform of United States immigration policy that includes a path to citizenship for all undocumented immigrants, streamlines our immigration process, removes cost barriers to immigrants, increases the number of people who are permitted to enter the United States, and provides more funding for immigration services;

• Foreign policy impact on immigration

• • Diplomacy and sustainable development should be used to improve the social, economic and environmental conditions that contribute to undocumented immigration into the United States;
  • The U.S. should not pursue destabilizing foreign policies, such as the drug war, which force so many immigrants to flee their homelands;

• Border protection

• • • Border Patrol checkpoints should be used only at the border;
    • Congress shall repeal the law that allows warrantless search of any vehicle within a ‘reasonable distance’ of the border, interpreted by CBP to mean within 100 miles of all land and maritime borders.
    • Border Patrol should not have any role in ordinary law enforcement activities, including providing routine translation services for other agencies;
    • Border Patrol should not disrupt other civic duties like attending court hearings, inhibiting the right to due process;
    • State or local agencies should have no involvement in the enforcement of federal immigration laws, including providing information, access, and/or assistance to ICE;

• Access to entry

• • • The U.S. should not adopt unjust and arbitrary quotas, limits, and other immigration rules that have the primary purpose of preventing new immigration;
    • The U.S. should abandon the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which has led to thousands of kidnappings of asylum seekers;
    • The U.S. should codify that domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence are recognized reasons for asylum status;
    • The merits of asylum seekers should not be judged on U.S. geopolitical and/or economic interests; 
    • Asylum-seekers should not be automatically detained or deported;
    • No one should be deported or detained without due process of law; 
    • Streamlined and expedited procedures for granting asylum should be provided to persons fleeing from areas of war, genocide, and political oppression, drug and human trafficking, fleeing religious and ethnic oppression, civil strife and violence;
    • Streamlined and expedited procedures for granting work visas should be provided to asylum seekers and migrants seeking employment.
    • No one should be subjected to any “public charge” rules that disproportionately limit or prohibit immigration of people with disabilities;

• Treatment at borders

• • • It is our responsibility to protect the rights and welfare of all people within our borders regardless of citizenship or immigration status;
    • All people, regardless of their country of origin or their immigration status, deserve to be treated fairly, respectfully, and with dignity, and that all people have a right to equitable treatment under the law;
    • State and local governments should adopt policies that prevent their law enforcement agencies from being involved in immigration enforcement;

• All levels of government should recognize the basic human rights of immigrants and protect them with transparent due process in all proceedings and an opportunity for a clear and equitable pathway to documented status and citizenship

• • • All detainees should have the right of habeas corpus, to humane treatment, safe facilities, adequate medical care, nutrition, clothing, shelter, freedom of religious practices, disability access, family unity, legal defense, a living wage for their work, and access to basic education services, interpretive services, and an accounting of their location;
    • Immediately begin the re-unification of the over 3,000 families that have been separated at the border.
    • Families of undocumented immigrants and people seeking asylum must not be separated;
    • No child should be caged;
    • Qualified foster care services should be provided for undocumented, unaccompanied minors;
    • Counsel should be provided in all immigration related legal proceedings, regardless of immigration status;
    • Government-funded interpreters and translation services should be provided in all immigration related legal proceedings;
    • Detainees should not be forced into labor;
    • The Federal Government should dramatically increase the number of qualified immigration judges to clear the immigration backlog and avoid lengthy detentions for adults and children;

• Path to citizenship

• The Federal Government should allow undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children who have attained the age of majority to apply for U.S. citizenship without first being required to return to their country of origin;
• The United States Congress should pass a comprehensive “Dream Act” for young adults that provides a streamlined path to citizenship; 

• Access to services

• • • All levels of government should enact policies that fully integrate and support immigrants as equal members of our communities, including programs offering instruction in English, interpretative and translation services of governmental documents and services, and preparation for citizenship;
    • Immigrants should be issued identification documents and driver’s licenses regardless of status;
    • Immigrants should not be excluded or demeaned based on religion or country of origin;
    • All people, regardless of their immigration status, are entitled to K-12 and post-secondary education to provide them the knowledge and skills to be productive members of society;
    • Access to healthcare and human services should be provided without regard to immigration status; withholding those services is discriminatory and inhumane;
    • The Federal Government should enact policies that allow foreign students to remain in the United States and give them opportunity to earn permanent residency;

• Access to employment

• • • The Federal Government should sign and ratify the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their families;

• All levels of government should enact policies that prevent discrimination in wages and working conditions for immigrant workers, including access to safe and adequate housing, medical care and educational opportunities;

• All levels of government should enforce all existing laws which penalize employers who knowingly employ undocumented immigrants;

• • • In securing workplace safety irrespective of immigration status or national origin.
    • Undocumented workers should be given the same rights as other citizens to unionize and assert grievances about labor conditions;
    • Employers should be provided with legal access to an immigrant workforce, such as a guest worker program;

• Rights of legal residents and their families

• • • Legal permanent residents should have the same rights as American citizens concerning waiting time for their legal spouses to join them in the U.S.;
    • There should be no deportation or detention of family members of U.S. citizens;
    • The Federal Government should increase family unification, including families of domestic partners and bi-national couples, by granting legal status with the same standards as spouses of citizens;

• Other

• English should not be established as the sole official language of the United States;