FOR RELEASE
Wednesday, July 16, 2025
Media Contact, Chris Robinson
[email protected] and 267-977-0570
Green Party Common Sense about Immigration
In his inaugural address on January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump called for a “revolution of common sense.” Three days later, Trump declared, “What the world has witnessed in the past 72 hours is nothing less than a revolution of common sense.” Now it is time to review some of Trump’s assertions about immigrants and their deportation by ICE, compared to our own common sense:
Trump:
“On Day 1, I will launch the largest deportation program of criminals in American history. We’re going to get them out. We have to. Dwight Eisenhower has the record. … But we’re going to unfortunately beat the record.”
Common Sense:
Jon Lessner, a member of the Green Party of Philadelphia (GPOP), said: “Unfortunately, Trump is now distorting the Constitution and breaking as many laws as he can to get it done. The for-profit prisons are his motivation here -- not picking up criminals.”
Chris Robinson, a Green Party member from Germantown, said: “All areas of the North American continent are not identical. Some states need new or younger people for their economy (agriculture, manufacturing or retail food), while others may need additional people to care for their ageing population. We have seen many urban areas like Philadelphia become sanctuary cities to publicize that they welcome new immigrants. Trump has ordered ICE to raid hospitals, schools and places of worship.”
Chair Beverly Rolfsmeyer of the GPOP Migration is a Human Right Working Group said: “Trump is saying he wants to get rid of as many brown people as he can. Apparently he thinks all brown people are criminals. Why would anyone believe him, anyway? The large majority of migrants are very kind, humble, hard-working people. We cannot run our economy without them. Yes, it would be nice to have a nice, orderly crossing of the border. Migrants have been crossing for about a couple hundred years without a wall, and without heavy military response. I frankly don't even have immigration on my list of concerns.”
Trump:
“All of the illegal migrants that [Vice President] Kamala [Harris] has dumped into your small towns will be going home. You’re going to have to go home. I’m sorry. Because it’s not sustainable, and it’s going to be very hard to do. It’s a very hard thing to do.”
Common Sense:
Jon Lessner said: “What is not sustainable? Immigrants paying taxes and social security which they will never benefits from? Cheap labor for jobs which many people do not want to do? Helping the economy with new immigrant businesses? The culture and sense of community togetherness that is growing in the face of oppression?”
Chris Robinson, said: “I am sure that Trump is wrong. One third of Philadelphia’s labor force is from other countries, and our city’s economic growth relies on immigrants, especially healthcare, social services, transportation, warehouses, and construction. Immigrants have a wonderful future in Philadelphia. We should make immigrants and their children welcome here and help them find better jobs, get a good education, and contribute creatively to our culture.”
Beverly Rolfsmeyer said: “Trump is babbling. Trump, don't you have illegals working at your golf resorts, et al? Sorry then, they must go home too. It will be hard, Trump, because you don't like to pay people!”
Trump:
"We're doing a fantastic job of getting criminals out of this country," the president said adding that immigration enforcement was "one of the primary reasons I was elected. That's what the public wanted and that's what I'm doing."
Common Sense:
Jon Lessner continued: “In most cases, immigrants do not increase crime in communities; their presence actually decreases crime. This relationship between crime and immigrants is near universal across the country. Dr. Jacob I. Stowell says: ‘In communities with more immigrants, crime rates, specifically homicide rates, are lower.’ Stowell is an associate professor of criminology and criminal justice at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.”
Chris Robinson also pointed out: “A quick glance at the ICE data for Philadelphia shows that ICE is arresting many immigrants who are not criminals. During the first three months of the Trump administration, half (5,449) had no convictions out of the total arrested (10,994) in Philadelphia. This is consistent with national numbers. In June 2025, the CATO Institute reported that sixty-five percent of people arrested by ICE had no convictions, and ninety-five percent had no convictions for violent crimes. In addition, ICE has terrorized most immigrants who are now afraid to go to work, school or the grocery store.”
Beverly Rolfsmeyer continued: “He's doing a fantastic job of getting brown and black people out. He is also doing permanent harm to the ecology of the desert by completing the wall. Endangered wildlife will go extinct. The wall must come down. All of it! Even Obama's wall!
For information about the Green Party Migration is a Human Right Working Group please contact Beverly Rolfsmeyer, Green Party City Committee at [email protected]. The Green Party of Philadelphia (GPOP, www.gpop.org) is an independent political party which stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPOP candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity.
For more information, please see:
"Green Party Condemns ICE Terrorizing Mexican-Americans," Green Party of Philadelphia news release, April 15, 2025,
https://www.gpofpa.org/green_party_condemns_ice_terrorizing_mexican_americans
“Green Party Welcomes Immigrants,” Green Party of Philadelphia news release, April 9, 2025,
https://www.gpofpa.org/green_party_welcomes_immigrants
“Abolish ICE” by Howie Hawkins, statement by the Green Party Candidate for Governor of New York, June 27, 2018,
https://www.gp.org/_abolish_ice
END ITEM