“The convention will be an open forum to develop strategies and coordinate action to help advance immigrant rights,” Moisés Zavala, an organizer of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 881 and a leader of the March 10 Movement, told the Militant.

The March 10 Movement, which is hosting the conference, is the coalition that organized the massive marches for immigrant rights here on March 10 and May 1.

One proposal that will be discussed at the convention will be the call for coordinated demonstrations around the country on the Labor Day weekend at the beginning of September. Actions are already planned in several cities including Los Angeles, Washington, Chicago, and the Twin Cities.

The conference call lists points of unity for those attending. The first is support for unconditional legalization for all, and opposition to the immigration bill passed last December by the House of Representatives, which would criminalize undocumented workers and those who aid them, as well as to the current version of the bill approved in May by the Senate.

The conference organizers call for expedited family reunification visas, and protection of labor and civil rights for all. They call for an end to deportations, to the use of local police agencies for immigration purposes, and to the building of walls at the U.S.-Mexico border and militarization of the frontier.

Organizations and individuals who have been active in this working-class struggle over the past year are building the gathering across the country.

Leaders of the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Coalition say they are sending a couple of carloads of people to participate in the Chicago conference. That coalition is organizing for a September 4 action in which supporters of immigrant rights will march to Harriet Island Park, where trade unions in that state are organizing an annual gathering to mark Labor Day.

On a tour through New York and Boston August 2--5, Nativo López, president of the California-based Mexican American Political Association, used those platforms to build the Chicago conference (see article in this issue).

Joel Magallán, executive director of Asociación Tepeyac in New York, told the Militant August 8 that he anticipates representatives of dozens of organizations and coalitions will be present in Chicago. The conference “will help us see things collectively, establish a common strategy, and reaffirm the basic principles with which we started,” he said.

Magallán said he has joined the call for supporters of the rights of immigrants to participate in the Labor Day activities organized by trade unions nationwide, and to bring to these actions the fight for legalization for all immigrants who live in this country.

The convention will be held at the Holiday Inn in Hillside, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. It will begin with a reception on Friday evening, August 11. Saturday will include sessions focusing on an “Analysis of the Current Situation—And What We Stand For”; “Immigrants and Labor”; and “Combating the Right-Wing Attack on Immigrants.” On Sunday, delegates will discuss action proposals and organize for national coordination of future work.

To find out how to attend, call (877) 7-MARCHA or e-mail august11convention@movimiento10demarzo.org.

Róger Calero in New York and Brian Taylor in Minneapolis contributed to this article.
 
 
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‘Legalize all immigrants now!’
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