WASHINGTON, D.C., March 21 — Over 250,000 working-class youth and families marched and rallied in support of the “Comprehensive Immigration Reform” (CIR) bill. The crowd was loud, spirited and hopeful, but at the same time wary. The Democratic Party, along with unions, churches and community groups, organized the event they called a “March for America.” It was no surprise that the marchers, led by SEIU president Andy Stern, were prompted to wave the U.S. flag and chant, “USA, USA.”
While the majority of the marchers echoed the bosses’ chant, a group of PL’ers and friends interjected working-class internationalism with the chant, “Workers’ Struggles have no Borders” and sold several hundred CHALLENGES.
Many immigrants want changes, because they know all too well how the long arm of capitalism — imperialism — decimated their home countries and forced many of them to trek dangerous routes to feed their families. PL’ers must expose how the proposed reforms fit into U.S. imperialism’s needs.
U.S. rulers need a much larger military and civilian population that is patriotic, or at least passive, and willing to “sacrifice for America” because they face mounting challenges to their top-dog status from rivals in China, Europe, the Middle East and South America. Their solution to these problems is to make ALL workers pay to save their economy and finance their wider wars.
Obama has pledged his “support for immigration reform that provides for national prosperity, national security, and a population that plays by the rules and a path to citizenship.” These “rules” mean immigrant workers will have to declare themselves criminals and pay fines and back taxes (from $10,000 to $20,000 per person). An ID system (E-verify) would intensify enforcement of fascist workplace rules, heighten armed military control of the U.S.-Mexico border and lay a path to citizenship that may take from 8 to 13 years.
CIR’s promise of “legalization” will keep the bait sweet enough to continue to attract millions of workers into a temporary worker status under the watchful eyes of government agents. Immigrant workers are victims of racist super-exploitation, which impoverishes the whole working class. It creates a “reserve army of the unemployed” which the bosses use as a club over the heads of all workers, including white workers.
CIR will tie immigrant workers to their jobs: their temporary status would depend on
maintaining employment. Get laid off — get deported. This policy would continue the U.S. history of slave labor under a liberal disguise. Then the only option for youth becomes joining the military to fight and die for U.S. imperialism.
Conveniently overlooked are two key elements of “reform”: the Dream Act and a guest-worker program. These are not “details to be worked out,” as the politicians and their lackeys proclaim. They’re real-life issues that will result in more raids and deportations as workplace regulations tighten, with more racist profiling and criminalization of immigrants. This would soften all workers for even sharper attacks on labor standards.
It is important to emphasize international working-class unity, particularly at workplaces, in communities and among youth. PLP pledges to fight racist attacks against immigrants and refuse to hand over information about undocumented immigrants, while protecting them in any way possible. We pledge to link the pro-immigration fight to the one against racist unemployment. Activities to mobilize a successful May Day and build the revolutionary communist PLP are crucial _