By Francisco Romero, RPMA Media Team

(Detroit, MI) On the second day of the United States Social Forum (USSF), there were several workshop strategy sessions that took place dealing with the immigrant and migrant rights struggle. From I.C.E. and Police collaboration, to Immigration Reform legislation analysis, to local grassroots resistance and organizing in defense of of workers’ rights, with our without ‘papeles’.

ALTO AL DECOMISO DE AUTOS (Stop Vehicle Impound)

The morning was kicked off with an intense, solution/action-oriented session led by Miguel Robles of the Alianza Latinoamericana por los Derechos de los Inmigrantes (ALIADI) based out of the San Francisco bay area. Robles, a grassroots organizer, has traveled up and down California and beyond, to meet with and learn about how different cities are setting up Driver Licensce Checkpoints, and the various schemes utilized to extort money from undocumented drivers as well as collaboration-joint efforts to deport Raza. From the onset, Robles made it clear, that each participant within the workshop must look forward into organizing and coordinating a campaign to bring halt to the unjust practice of targeting Mexican/Latin-American communities with the “Retenes”. Workshop participants representing Arizona, New Mexico, Washington, Kansas, and California broke up into focal groups which then presented to the general body, what the plan of action items were to launch a coordinated effort to end the vehicle impound policies targeting workers without licenses. The workshop faciltator pronounced that it seems unlikely for a national “immigration reform” to take place this year and called on a massive locally-based reform be waged, city by city, block by block. Please visit: http://www.aliadi.org/

LIVE, LOVE AND WORK~ Repeal ALL Anti-Immigrant Laws!

In a late afternoon session, led by the Repeal Coalition, a Flagstaff/Phoenix Arizona-based community organization, nearly 100 participants gathered to discuss the importance about the multi-level, multi-progned approach rooted in the fundamental principle of a person’s right to “Live, Love and Work”, that is, the right for a person to choose where they want to Live and move freely without fear. The right to Love, that is, the right to be with family without fear of being separated by I.C.E., and lastly, the right to Work. The Repeal Coalition calls for “All human beings—with papers or without—be guaranteed access to work, housing, health care, education, legal protection, and other public benefits, as well as the right to organize. Our strategy is to help build a grass roots social movement that can repeal these laws, change the terms of the national debate on immigration, and expand the freedom of all people—documented and undocumented.” To contact Repeal Coalition: http://www.repealcoalition.org/

LA LUCHA SIGUE! Stop the Militiarization and Criminalization of our Communities

Candidate Obama, back in his 2008 presidential campaign, spoke about implementing “comprehensive immigration reform” within his first year of office. Nearly a year and half into his presidency, and now President Obama, not only is there no reform, on the contrary, the ICE raids continue to terrorize our barrio with thousand upon thousands being detained and deported. Repressive and blatantly racist laws, such as Arizona’s SB-1070 continue to expand and influence the discourse. Added to these recent legislative assaults, we have Obama calling for additional 1,000 plus occupational troops to the border region, this only weeks after the brutal beating to death of Sergio Hernandez and then, the bloody assassination of Anastasio, a young 14 year old. All of this, within days of the quietly forgotten four migrant workers that were forced to drown after Border Patrol Agents ordered the migrantes to cross back swimming to the Mexican side. Please visit- http://laht.com/article.asp?CategoryId=14091&ArticleId=359090

In the end, the participants of today’s workshops on immigrant and migrant worker rights agree that the solution for these current realities will be found, Abajo y a la Izquierda, that is, from the grassroots/in the barrio, and to the left, meaning away and outside the confined capitalist/imperial framework.

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By Jose G. Moreno, RPMA Media Team

Day Two: Is “Another World Possible” within the U.S. Empire?

(Detroit, Michigan) Today over 10,000 people gathered at the U.S. Social Forum to discuss the burning social and political problems in the US Empire. Day Two there were many workshops and assemblies that highlighted the anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist, and anti-colonialist struggles and ideological frameworks of the people movements of the las americas.

What are some of burning social and political problems facing Mexicans/Latinos in the U.S. Empire? During the last three decades, there has been a rise of neo-liberal policies around the world due to the concepts of modern globalization and imperialism. The historical development of the North America Free Trade Agreement between the nations of Mexico, Canada, and the United States changed the political and economical direction of modern Mexican/Latino migration and immigration settlement in North America. For example, Mexicans/Latinos started to migrated and settled in the US Southeast, Midwest, Pacific Northwest and Northeast. The rise of the contemporary global market has led to massive growth of Mexicans/Latinos in North America over the last three decades. Mexicans/Latinos have become the largest ethnic group in the US Empire due to neo-liberalism and imperialism.

Why is there a rise of modern nativist and racist immigration policies in the U.S. Empire? In 1994, over 50 % of California voters passed Proposition 187, which would prevented undocumented people from receiving any type of public services from the state. By 1996, Proposition 187 was found unconstitutional under US law. At the same time, the Clinton Administration developed Occupation Gatekeeper, which further militarized the US/Mexico border. Occupation Gatekeeper pushed the migration patterns of Mexicans/Latinos into the desert regions of California, Arizona, and New Mexico.

Why Arizona? For the last 15 years, Arizona has become the “Alabama of the Southwest” due to the development of racist and nativist laws toward Mexicans/Latinos. For example, in 2004 over 50% of the voters in Arizona passed Proposition 200, which prevents undocumented people from receiving any type of public services. Proposition 200 was developed by the authors of Proposition 187, which was unconstitutional under US law. In 2006, over 50% of the voters in Arizona passed Proposition 300, which prevents undocumented people from receiving any type of financial and state aid to attend college in the state. Currently, SB 1070 and SB 2281 have targeted the Mexican/Latino population of the Alabama of the Southwest.

Finally, Day Two has touch upon some of these burning issues and problems in the US Empire. I hope the next day of the USSF 2010 will cover and provide more problem-solving solutions to nativist and racist immigration policies toward the Mexican/Latino community. Only a counter hegemonic, anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist, and anti-colonialist struggle will change the social and political conditions for the Mexicans/Latinos in las americas. This is the only organizational ideological framework that would make an “Another World Possible” a reality in the US Empire.

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