January, 2007

Immigration raids escalate battle for hearts, minds and soul of U.S.

From the Tribuno del Pueblo

Immigrants and supporters rally in Chicago earlier this year. PHOTO//ADRIAN GARCIA

The recent raids at the Swift & Company meatpacking plants in six states have left hundreds of families in disarray. Churches were left caring for children left behind without parents, husbands and wives searched frantically for information on where there loved ones had been taken. The Department of Homeland Security, the news media and politicians are redefining immigrant workers from victims to criminals and in the process are rallying the anti-immigrant forces for yet another assault on the most vulnerable sector of the working class.

These forces have attempted to rally the American people to support criminalization of immigrant workers as a solution to the growing anger of all workers in this country over the corporate attack on their living standards and the corporate looting of the country's finances. This attack has been used throughout history, but was escalated last year with the introduction of HR 4437, which led to the massive marches of last spring.

Since the marches and groundswell of support for a pathway to legalization, the government has begun to implement some of the most draconian parts of HR 4437. Despite the mid-term election results that rejected the anti-immigrant positions of many candidates, some Democrats, some unions, immigrant rights advocates and organizations are currently negotiating legislation that incorporates some of the most onerous parts of the bill that was rejected. To what purpose are these debates and these actions being escalated?

Our country historically has been on a course toward the constant extension of civil rights to those that were denied access to the basic rights of any person (not just citizen) of this country according to the Constitution. The success of unions, the civil rights and women's movements, social security, labor laws and many other advances were based upon a moral interpretation of the kind of country and people we were.

There is an ongoing battle to redefine the values of the country so as to justify reversing this history. Therefore, justifying the denial of rights to anyone in this country (or in foreign policy), justifying homelessness, joblessness, denial of health care and deconstructing the educational system as we once knew it.

Clearly this is not an issue that affects immigrant workers only. Every part of our country must understand what the consequences will be to all of us if this trend is not reversed. We must be prepared for what lies ahead--increasing attacks on immigrant workers and in the end, on all of us. The losses of manufacturing jobs in this country were not because of immigrants, but from the corporations seeking to maximize profits. The force pushing immigrants to come to this country is the same force that moved the jobs out of this country. And yet in Mexico, Central and South America there are large movements to deal with their economic and political crisis--a struggle to transform them toward economic and political justice, eliminating the need for immigration. First, the working class should seek alliances with these movements and support them. Secondly, we must prepare for the ever-escalating attacks to divide us.

These attacks have split many immigrant rights organizations, religious organizations, unions and communities on how to respond and what position to take. On the issue of immigration, the only position we can have is full legalization. Anyone supporting anything short of this is supporting the shifting of our historical moral and political imperative and the destruction of our Constitution.

The Swift raids show us that we must organize an underground that protects and defends the immigrant workers as these attacks continue. Immigrant workers must continue to organize and speak from the economic position they are forced to adopt. The rest of us must redouble our efforts not to submit to the negotiating of rights and basic human dignities as the Democrats, Republicans and so-called "spokespersons" of immigrants are attempting to do as we go to press.

We must reject the efforts of corporate representatives in government to use "legalities" to turn us against one another so they can avoid the wrath of the American people for what they have done to our country and the world. We must organize and coordinate our activities toward real temporary solutions that will lead to economic and political decisions that can stand on our moral history. Fortunately there are many communities that have done just that and stood for the real America.

We will not continue to go back to the days of leaving children without their parents and tearing families apart…We are better than that!