Solidarity needed to stop war on immigrants

There is a war going on inside this country—a war against immigrants, especially undocumented immigrants. This war is escalating, and like most wars, it is taking many casualties. The casualties are innocent children, women and men whose only crime is the need to survive, to find a way to live and work in the United States.

This unrelenting war demands that the progressive and working-class movements pay close attention as it has great bearing on the class struggle. Current developments regarding immigration policy in the U.S. are both encouraging and ominous.

Phoenix Sheriff Joe Arpaio is nationally and internationally infamous for what can only be described as a reign of terror against not only immigrants but against people of color and the poor. Inmates of all nationalities are treated brutally and constantly humiliated in Arpaio’s jails. The sheriff’s practices have become so appalling that a national outcry has forced the Justice Department to investigate Arpaio’s conduct as well as that of his deputies.

On June 19, well-known civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton traveled to Phoenix. His trip shed much-needed light on what is going on in this region of the country. Meeting in a predominantly African-American church, it also helped build unity between the Black and Latina/o communities around the immigration issue.

Rev. Sharpton daringly met with Arpaio, primarily to discuss the sheriff’s notorious racial profiling. “We didn’t come to start trouble,” said Sharpton in response to attacks from Arpaio. “We came to stop trouble.” (BET, Jun 22) The meeting between Sharpton and Arpaio followed a meeting with victims of racial profiling conducted by Arpaio’s department.

What is happening in Arizona is just a sample of the attacks against immigrants sweeping the country. Racial profiling against “foreign-looking” workers has become epidemic. Driving while Latina/0, Jamaican or Nigerian has become a reason to be stopped, victimized, detained and deported. Should a seat belt break or a tail light bust, you might land in jail for a night or in a hellish detention cell.

Anti-immigrant attacks on the rise

Spurred by the economic crisis, the right wing is sharpening their weapons, escalating their racist diatribe. This dangerous rhetoric is leading to more and more anti-immigrant crimes.

In Mount Vernon, Ohio, a group of teenagers was charged with putting a noose around the neck of a Latino boy in May 2008 and dragging him in a parking lot. Were it not for the intervention of some strangers who stopped the attack, the youth, Roberto Cantu, might have been lynched.

Despite this noose attack and yelling racist epitaphs, including “Get the Mex-

ican,” Cantu said, only one attacker was sentenced to only 10 days in jail and the charges of aggravated assault were dropped. (Mansfield News Journal, June 17)

Other equally repugnant episodes are taking place around the country. There are horror stories of children placed in foster homes after their parents are detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. One case involved a Guatemalan woman whose children were taken from her in a round-up. She spent years trying to get her children out of foster care.

In Ann Arbor, Mich., immigrant rights activists report that undocumented workers who cannot show certain papers are not allowed to receive their children’s birth certificates.

The right wing is fueling anti-immigrant sentiment in other ways as well. They are blaming immigrants for the high cost of health care. The real culprit, of course, is the pharmaceutical and medical industry, which is behind the for-profit instead of for-people health care system.

This blaming the undocumented for all the ills of society, however, resonates among a sector of the population and must be challenged.

Government policy at a standstill

The Obama administration has not yet moved forward on passing a progressive, humane, pro-worker immigration policy. In fact, a meeting with members of Congress regarding immigration was postponed several times, much to the ire of immigrant rights activists.

Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said, as the postponed meeting was finally held on June 25, that the “votes aren’t there” for immigration reform. (Christian Science Monitor, June 25) Neither is the political will to challenge the right wing.

Some in the movement say that the Obama administration is caving in to right-wing anti-immigrant sentiments and the administration is fearful of taking a progressive stand.

Not long ago, Vice President Joe Biden was quoted as saying that as long as the economic crisis looms, it will be “difficult” to provide legalization for undocumented workers. This kind of statement promotes further divisions among U.S.-born and foreign-born workers.

Ignacio Meneses, a leader of Latinos Unidos in Detroit and a key organizer of that city’s May Day rally, addressed union and progressive activists during the People’s Summit and Tent City in Detroit June 14-17. There Meneses debunked this lie.

Meneses pointed out that legalizing the undocumented would raise the standard of living of all workers; that this would help the economy as the undocumented could come out of the shadows, join unions, buy cars and homes, and join the fight for workers’ rights.

Not legalizing the undocumented continues the age-old ruling-class tactic of divide and conquer. In addition, as the “Buy America” campaign fills the air, that also leads to a dead end. Instead of building class solidarity, “Buy America” only fuels competition among workers here and abroad. It also leads to anti-immigrant attacks as Mexican or Chinese workers are seen as the enemy by those influenced by this reactionary rhetoric.

The only solution to the war on immigrants—and to the war against all workers in this country—is solidarity, organizing and fighting back. Together in unity, workers can meet the challenges ahead.

Gutierrez is a coordinator of the New York May 1 Coalition for Worker and Immigrant Rights.