Washington’s escalating immigration raids and deportations are a serious threat to working people and the unions today. They seek to divide the working class into two camps: workers born in the U.S. and others born abroad. The goal of the bosses and their government is to set us against each other, the better to exploit us all.
At the same time, they’re fueling struggles against these government attacks. These fights can win victories and bring workers together. This is in the interests of all working people.
Some recent fights the Militant has featured include:
The campaign against the deportation of sheet metal apprentice Kilmar Abrego García. He’s fighting the Donald Trump administration’s moves to try to deport him to Liberia, a country in Africa he has zero connection with. Abrego García has a wife and three children here, and his fight to stay in the U.S. is backed by his union, the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers. The government was forced to return him to the U.S. after violating a federal court order and deporting him to El Salvador, where he was imprisoned and tortured. He is fighting for his freedom against a vindictive assault by the government.
David Huerta, a leader of the Service Employees International Union in Los Angeles, was beaten, jailed and slapped with felony charges for participating in a protest against an Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid at a garment plant there. Forced to drop the felony charges, prosecutors are still trying to go after him. He and his union are fighting back.
Restaurant owner Anou Vongbandith has returned to Philadelphia after an outpouring of support from working people across the city forced authorities to release him from ICE detention. He’s been in the U.S. since fleeing repression in Laos 45 years ago, and is still fighting to stay here.
In a similar battle, Ruperto Vicens, who runs a restaurant in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, was released from detention Nov. 18 after he had been detained by ICE, despite having a visa to work in the U.S. Family members and supporters raised $96,000 for his legal defense. His fight continues.
There are many more examples of situations where workers have come together to join successful fights to turn back government threats to deport people they’ve come to know. One great example was when co-workers, neighbors, people who got to know each other at their kids’ soccer games all came together to win freedom and return Carole Mayorga back to her family and job waiting tables in Kennett, Missouri. “I voted for Donald Trump,” Vanessa Cowart, who goes to the same church as Mayorga, said. “But no one voted to deport moms.”
Join in spreading the word about these fights. Help win support from your union, church, friends and co-workers. Each of these struggles, and others like them, set an important example.
Under the impact of today’s deepening worldwide capitalist crisis, tens of millions have emigrated to the U.S. in search of a better life. The bosses take advantage of this to try and create a pariah layer of the working class with fewer rights who live in fear of deportation. Their drive to superexploit this layer of workers is part and parcel of their efforts to weaken our unions and drive down the wages and conditions of all workers.
This is a life-and-death question for the labor movement. We cannot allow the working class to get torn apart under the blows of the rulers’ offensive. We need to join in a fight to win amnesty for all workers in the U.S. without papers. This is the road to unify labor’s ranks and strengthen the entire working class for the bigger class battles to come.