‘No war on migrants! No war on Iran!’

A militant crowd gathered outside Philadelphia City Hall on June 26 to demand “No war on migrants! No war on Iran!” While many attending represented organizations that had initiated or endorsed the rally, a significant number were individuals passing by who stopped to listen and stayed to the end.  The rally was called by Philadelphia International Action Center and the Workers’ Solidarity Network.

The event drove home the connections between U.S. imperialist wars and occupations abroad and the growing number of migrants worldwide. The U.S. government’s nationalistic policies destabilize countries, causing increased migration of workers fleeing poverty and violence, at the same time that the Trump administration tweets out racist threats against workers who have migrated to the U.S. simply to seek a living.

The majority of people in the U.S. and around the world oppose the endless U.S. wars and threats against oil-rich regions, this time against Iran.

Speakers also addressed the concentration camp conditions experienced by migrant children at the Texas border, as well as by over 2 million people imprisoned in U.S. jails.

The rally was chaired by Ted Kelly of Workers World Party, who opened by leading the crowd in chants.  Speakers included Ron Joseph from LILAC/Abolish Ice, Judy Greenspan from the Bay Area branch of WWP, Yahné Ndgo with Black Alliance for Peace, Marta Guttenberg with Jewish Voice for Peace, and Betsey Piette with the International Action Center.  

Also speaking was Jocelyn Velázquez, spokesperson of Jornada Se Acabaron las Promesas (No More Promises). Her organization has been leading resistance to the imposition of the Fiscal Control Board’s control over Puerto Rico, begun by President Barack Obama in 2016 under the PROMESA Law. The FCB has imposed a dictatorship that exerts authority over all Puerto Rican institutions, including the colonial government.

In addition to the two organizations that called the event, endorsers included Black Alliance for Peace; Black and Brown Workers’ Cooperative; Brandywine Peace Community; Coalición Fortaleza Latina; FIRE (Fight for Im/migrants & Refugees Everywhere); Jewish Voice for Peace, Philly;  International Concerned Family & Friends of Mumia Abu-Jamal; LILAC; MOVE Organization; Organizing Committee for a Maoist-Communist Party; Party for Socialism & Liberation; Philadelphia Camden Boricua Committee; Philly ANSWER; Philly Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions; Philly Don’t Orchestrate Apartheid; Philly Socialist; and Workers World Party/Mundo Obrero.