Some 75 workers heard Calero tell about his fight against the attempts of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to deport him.

The next night Calero spoke as part of a panel at the main public meeting of his visit, held at the University of Miami (UM). More than 100 people were welcomed to the event by UM history professor Edmund Abaka.

A number of the striking garment workers participated, along with two UNITE organizers and the president of the UNITE local. One Point Blank striker, Umberto de la Cruz, explained how the INS had been used against the workers there and why they identified with Calero’s fight.

"We have been trying to organize a union where I work for two years now," he said. "And the first thing that the company did two years ago was to call up the Immigration and Naturalization Service. And in that raid they took 80 people."

When the workers stepped up their fight for a union, he said, the company tried to intimidate them. "But we decided to leave our work area and embark on a work stoppage. We are still on strike and we are only a step away from resolving our problems.  
 
‘Stay in the struggle’
"But even if we resolve our particular problems, we want to continue the campaign for the others who still need help. "We cannot permit the INS to mistreat us and intimidate us," said the garment worker. "That’s why all together we need to stay in the struggle."

Altaf Ali, executive director of the Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, described the jailing of people around the country, especially those of Middle Eastern origin.

Also speaking was Marleine Bastien, executive director of Fanm Ayisyen Nan Miyami (Haitian Women of Miami). She pointed to the authorities’ abusive treatment of Haitian immigrants who have been jailed as they arrive by boat. The struggle to force the release of these working people from Krome Detention Center has "gotten broad support," she said. "The community has banded together through demonstrations and letter-writing campaigns."

"We have workers here from Point Blank," she added. "Workers built this country. Róger Calero is among the thousands of immigrants who are removed from their productive role in society. What kind of government puts people like that in jail?"

"We join today in demanding the immediate release of the Haitian refugees," said Calero.

"What’s happening to me is happening to thousands of others," he said. "The 1996 Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act allows INS police to deport immigrants based on prior convictions for petty offenses.

"Former co-workers of mine at Dakota Premium in Minnesota, where we fought to organize a union, were the first to take up my fight. This exemplifies how the fight for immigrant rights is a life and death question for the labor movement today," he said.

Student organizations that co-sponsored the meeting included Planet Kreyol (the Haitian student organization), the African Student Union, the UM Arab Club, Islamic Students of UM, and the United Black Students.

Greetings were given to the meeting by representatives of UNITE for Dignity, Alianza Martiana, the Nation of Islam, the Miami Committee against the U.S. Embargo of Cuba, and Jobs with Justice. Participants contributed $700 to help defray legal and other expenses in the Calero fight. The program was covered by Spanish-language TV station UNIVISION.