https://themilitant.com/2018/06/30/amnesty-for-all-immigrants-in-the-us-no-deportations/
Amnesty for all immigrants in the US! No deportations!
As I See It
By Seth Galinsky
Vol. 82/No. 25
July 9, 2018
Demonstrators in Chicago, May 1, 2006, march demanding amnesty for all
undocumented workers in the U.S.
Militant/Rollande Girard
Demonstrators in Chicago, May 1, 2006, march demanding amnesty for all
undocumented workers in the U.S.
Debate over the U.S. rulers’ immigration policies jumped back on the
front burner since Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ May 7 announcement
that from now on there would be “zero tolerance” of “illegal”
immigration. Not only could those caught without papers be deported,
they could also first face prosecution and jail even for misdemeanors,
such as first time “illegal entry.” This led immigration cops to take
children to shelters, separating them from their parents who were
detained to face charges.
Previous administrations also separated parents who faced criminal
charges under immigration law from their children. But prosecutions for
misdemeanors — and thus the number of separations — were far fewer.
The Socialist Workers Party demands: Amnesty for all immigrants in the
U.S.! No deportations! No raids!
By June 20, more than 2,000 children had been taken from their parents
and placed in facilities across the country. Photos and recordings of
crying children — including some that were misidentified as being of
children who were separated — were used to focus on the issue.
Some liberals and the left used the attention to bolster their
“resistance” campaign to oust Trump at all costs. Liberal California
Congresswoman Maxine Waters urged people to take action against
representatives of the administration, saying that everyone should
“absolutely harass them” wherever they go.
Some liberal media bosses ran pictures of children locked in cage-like
cells, claiming they were taken this year.
But some of the most appalling pictures they published were actually
taken under the Barack Obama administration’s detention of unaccompanied
minors in 2014. These pictures highlight the continuity of the U.S.
rulers’ immigration policy.
11 million without ‘proper’ papers
On June 20 President Donald Trump — who claimed he opposed the
separations, but wanted Congress to vote for an overall immigration
policy, including funds for a wall on the Mexican border — ended the policy.
But the single-minded liberal-led crusade targeting Trump as somehow
especially evil and focusing only on the children leaves the 11 million
immigrants in the U.S. who don’t have “proper” work papers and who live
with the daily possibility of deportation out of the debate. They’re not
mentioned in the so-called immigration reform bills currently before
Congress nor by those who claim to speak in the interests of the immigrants.
Neither the current administration, nor previous ones, has any intention
of deporting all but a small minority of immigrants in the U.S. without
“proper” papers. Far from wanting to get rid of them, U.S. capitalists
depend on undocumented labor they press to work for less to compete more
successfully against their rivals.
Under the impact of the uptick in production, trade and hiring in the
U.S. and Mexico, and the tightening up of the U.S.-Mexico border, many
bosses in the U.S. are facing a shortage of labor. To make up for the
decline — at least in part — more than 200,000 H2-A short term “guest
worker” visas were awarded in 2017, up from 77,000 in 2011, a 159
percent increase.
The so-called guest workers have fewer rights than U.S.-born workers. If
they are fired or quit, they can be deported. Capitalist bosses are
pushing the government to grant more of these visas.
But they still need millions of undocumented workers.
The goal of the rulers is to instill fear in these workers and to pit
foreign-born and U.S.-born workers against each other. They seek to
maintain a source of cheap labor, to use immigrant labor to keep down
the wages of U.S.-born workers, and to divide the working class and
undermine its ability to organize the unorganized and fight capitalist
exploitation.
That’s why demanding amnesty for all 11 million immigrants in the U.S.
and for an immediate end to deportations is a life and death question
for the working class and our labor unions.
Millions win amnesty in 1986, 1990
The fight for amnesty has been won before. In 1986 then President Ronald
Reagan pushed through Congress an immigration law that made undocumented
workers who entered the U.S. before 1982 eligible for amnesty. Nearly 3
million people got amnesty.
But many spouses and children of immigrants who qualified for amnesty
were excluded, leading to protests over families being divided.
In 1990 President George H.W. Bush signed a law to cover those in this
position and granted amnesty to another 1.5 million.
In 2006 millions of immigrant workers took to the streets to protest the
Sensenbrenner bill in Congress that would have made it a felony to be in
the U.S. without a visa. They carried placards that said, “We are
workers, not criminals,” demanding amnesty. On May 1 more than 1 million
went on strike, shutting down hundreds of factories and businesses
across the country.
Not only did these actions force defeat of the federal legislation, they
won tremendous respect from fellow workers. Following May 1, more and
more immigration raids were met with protests. U.S.-born workers often
helped co-workers hide or escape. President George W. Bush suspended the
raids in mid-2008.
Today there is less prejudice against immigrant workers than ever.
Immigrant and native-born workers work and live side by side all across
the country.
The changing attitudes among U.S.-born workers can be seen in the
response to a government raid April 5 at Southeastern Provision
meat-processing plant in Bean Station, Tennessee, one of a handful of
new workplace raids the administration has undertaken.
In 2016 some 77 percent of the surrounding county voted for Trump. After
the raid, residents of nearby Morristown, where many of the workers
live, raised $60,000 for those who were detained. A number of U.S.-born
residents joined an April 12 march through Morristown where participants
carried signs saying, “Families belong together,” “No more deportations”
and “Immigrants make America great.”
A sustained, labor-backed battle for amnesty would find a powerful response.
In This Issue
Front Page Articles •Cop charged with murder in killing of Antwon Rose
•'Puerto Ricans will never give up struggle for independence'
•Amnesty for all immigrants in the US! No deportations!
•'Militant' fights new round of censorship in Florida prisons
•2018 Active Workers Conference: Build labor movement, build SWP
Feature Articles •Rising interest rates tighten debt squeeze on US farmers
Also In This Issue •Auckland protest demands protection of Maori land
•London march marks 1 year since Grenfell Tower fire
•Rail bosses press for longer freight trains, less workers
•Ivan Licho’s ‘Militant’ cartoons exposed capitalist rule
•Books by Thomas Sankara spark interest at Harlem festival
•Crisis in Puerto Rico caused by colonial control, capitalist rule
Editorials •Liberals' harassment crusade is threat to rights workers need!
On the Picket Line •UK hospital workers wage second strike, call further
action
•Ukraine rail workers fight for job safety
25, 50 and 75 years ago
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