Vol. 71/No. 28      July 23, 2007

Some in the media, especially liberals, painted the outcome as a "defeat" for those fighting for legalization of undocumented immigrants. In response to the bill's failure, however, working people should say, "Good riddance!"

Like similar proposals introduced earlier in Congress, the measure would have served the interests of the bosses. While allowing many to apply for legal status, it was designed to maintain millions in second-class status as a permanent pool of superexploitable labor.

The bill called for thousands more immigration cops and new jails. It endorsed the militarization of the border. It required workers seeking permanent residency to pay extortionate fees and remain in limbo for years, dependent on their employer for their status. It restricted family reunification. Its "guest worker" plan assured the bosses a stable supply of workers paid minimal wages, denied benefits, and stripped of their rights and mobility.

Many workers opposed the bill on these grounds. Others echoed arguments by some liberal politicians and trade union officials that it was "the best possible" deal.

Many bosses and their political representatives—Democrats and Republicans—attacked the bill for their own reasons. Craig Silvertooth, for example, a spokesman for the National Roofing Contractors Association, said limiting guest workers to 200,000 a year is "a travesty" because "it eviscerates the temporary worker program, which was one of the central reasons for the business community to be involved in the immigration debate." These bosses argued for a three-times higher annual pool of guest workers. They wanted assurances they can keep exploiting a large number of immigrants brought in seasonally to harvest crops or do other work. Conservative politicians argued the bill offered "amnesty" to lawbreakers.

Workers have nothing in common with either side of the bosses' divide.

The ruling capitalists face a dilemma. Immigration has produced a much more intractable crisis for them than the Iraq war. This is reflected in their inability to find "common ground" on immigration reform a year and a half after the House passed the infamous Sensenbrenner bill that would have criminalized all those without papers—sparking a storm of working-class protest. And even if Congress had passed the bill that just failed, the U.S. rulers would be facing the same crisis.

The 12 million undocumented immigrants in the United States represent something new. These workers have become integrated into its hereditary proletariat—those who can expect that they and their children will be a permanent part of the working class. At the same time many remain part of the hereditary proletariat in their native country, especially Mexico.

The bosses can't separate their need to compete and maximize profits from this expanding source of labor power. But this change also poses growing problems for the U.S. rulers, especially as a new vanguard develops among these workers that is leading resistance to the bosses' offensive and presenting political demands on the government. The capitalist class can't do without these workers, and it can't do with them.

Working people can take advantage of these divisions among the U.S. rulers. Let's press for immediate and unconditional legalization of all undocumented immigrants and for an end to raids and deportations. The August 4 march in Los Angeles around these demands is an example of an action that deserves emulation. Let's build it!
 
 
Related articles:
U.S. Senate kills bill on immigration
Los Angeles: 3,000 demand ‘Legalization now!’  
 
 
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