By Pablo Aceves
The recent announcement by President Barak Obama that the US will stop deporting a select group from within Raza youth whose parents brought here when young children and others falling within strictly defined parameters that do not have “papers” is causing hallelujah choruses in some segments of our community. However, we must look closer at this to see what is really being gained and what the Federal Government is hoping for through this move.
This attempt, inpart to push the passage of the Dream Act (that among other things calls for undocumented students to join the military) is designed to stop the deportation of younger persons and some who do not have serious criminal records. While so-called “leaders” in the non-governmental non-profit agency heads and “community voices” in the English and Spanish-Speaking media are hailing this as something of a great victory. Some have even gone so far as to state just how much after all, Obama loves our community and “immigrants in general”. This new wrinkle in the “immigration” debate needs a closer examination.
In the first place, Obama and others are very clear that this Order does not necessarily give a path to citizenship. It does provide the possibility (by no means a certainty) that someone who is under thirty and can show that they were brought to the US before they were 16 and have stayed here for 5 continuous years can get a renewable two year work permit.
Furthemore, “they cannot have a criminal record or constitute a threat to national security and must be a student or high school graduate or have served in the military.” (ABC News David Kelsey and Marisa Taylor). Although we are told that like in so many other “initiatives” and promises made by the Democratic Party and their mouthpieces to save us, the reality is different. The truth is that in reality this latest attempt may positively only impact about 800,000 (out of a population of millions who are facing Deportation, family separation, ICE Raids, and other forms of harassment and State Terrorism). As we can see clearly ther is no promise of a permanent solution to the attacks on our community. This is but a small concession made to a narrowly defined group of our comunidad.
We also must look at the conditions imposed:, Regardless of “immigration status” how many of our youth do not have criminal records due to the constant profiling, brutality, and mass incarceration by this colonial government that is benefitting from the resultant slave labor of Raza, African, and poor prisoners? How many of our youth are impacted by the all-out counterinsurgency assaults by the Police, DEA, and other law enforcement thuggery in our barrios under the guise of “fighting guns and drugs?”
As we look at the educational requirements to even be considered by the sistema to be worthy to stay we must ask ourselves: How many of our youth, again, regardless of “immigration status” are systemically pushed out of school before graduating by a racist, indifferent, culturally irrelevant education system? Small wonder that to those of us who follow the attacks on our community and are familiar with these statistics this smells like both a cheap electoral move to mobilize the “Latino vote” and a setup of epic proportions from a president who has deported more Raza than any other US history?
If anyone is not convinced of the true intentions of this new initiative, one of the stipulations should make it very clear: “must have served in the military.” This in fact is one of the most serious contradiction with the “Dream Act”. The fact is that the initiative demands that for us to stay in our own land, one of the conditions is that our youth defend a system that makes us second class citizens and become cannon fodder for US Imperialism to fight and kill innocent people all over the world that are suffering the same oppression as we.
Another issue with this is the requirement is the need to prove that someone has been continuously in the country for five years. How can someone who is undocumented who lives on constant fear and has to stay “in the shadows” prove that they have been clandestinely in the country? In effect, this seems to be another attampt to have Obama look as if he is “helping our community” when the requirements are nothing more than an insult to the intelligence of Raza everywhere.
So what would be the real motives of the Obama administration?
1. To give “hopes”and neutralize growing Raza anger and discontent at mass deportations and attacks in our community: At a time when the masses of our people are becoming aware by the brutality of the system to our gente, Obama shows (right in time for the elections) himself to be a “friend to Latinos” and not only get some votes but safegards the vendido “Hispanics” in the Democratic Party who have shamelessly and uncritically promoted this administration and are now being questioned and that on the verge of being discredited outright.
2. To make a long term investment: Like with the Dream Act, it would make a class of Raza youth who are undocumented within the system set aside as “special”. By noting that those affected are “American in every way but a piece of paper”), Obama’s rhetoric neutralizes the righteous youthful expression of anger which would be natural. Thus, the attempt creates a “grateful” “well behaved” aspiring “American” sub class who is willing to rat out their parents and cousins, fight, kill, and die for imperialism. Since this is not a clear or defined path to any regular long-term status adjustment, Obama would be creating a class of potential aspiring sellouts who do not want to piss off anyone can be counted for their docility while they “wait for the chance” to be “Americans” and prove how much they love the Empire.
As independent, liberation and self-determination-oriented Raza Journalists and activists, we must question the motives of these attempts by the Democratic Party machine so close to presidential election. We must state that this false promise is not enough: we cannot beg for concessions in our own land. We also must question the intentions and motivations of those forces who are hailing this as a “great victory for our people.” Those in the media who are pushing this as a great benefit are confusing and giving false hope to the most vulnerable. We must call this shameless act the pandering that it is to electoral poliotics and not let anyone off the hook. As we have stated previously with the Dream Act – any “solution” or compromise that calls on our youth to be cannon fodder for this system is unacceptable.