Thre's a good article about The Immigration War by Pham Binh at MRZine. The article outlines what the fight has really been about and who the players are. One sometimes hears from "liberals" mock concern for the undocumented and so on, and it's good to see a decent expose like this one by Binh.
quote:
The main dynamic driving immigration policy in the modern era is capital's need for cheap rightless labor. The only way to keep labor cheap -- or cheaper than wages prevailing in the rest of the economy -- is to deprive workers of any legal and political rights, freedom of speech and freedom to form a union being the most dangerous rights.
Clear and to the point. It rips the covering off the fraud about "half a loaf is better than none at all" and similar right-wing arguments. Here's more:
quote:
As neoliberal policies over the last thirty years in Latin America destroyed the livelihoods of millions and forced them to look elsewhere for jobs, the government made coming to the U.S. more dangerous and difficult and, at the same time, encouraged illegal immigration. In 1986, Reagan signed a law that began militarizing the U.S.-Mexico border and simultaneously gave an amnesty to the millions of undocumented workers already here.
The "left wing" opposition to more repressive laws in the US "is, ridiculously, sections of big business that are heavily dependent on the labor of the undocumented, primarily the construction, hotel, meat-packing, restaurant, and farming industries. These businesses masquerade as friends of immigrant labor by pushing for a guest-worker program and/or a "path to citizenship." Such measures would both ensure a supply of cheap rightless labor and act as a carrot to dangle in front of the undocumented who are desperate to come out from the shadows where they live in fear of being deported."
The General Strike in May of last year shook off the opportunistic Democratic Party leadership and was a kind of "festival of the oppressed."
The piece is a good read for the history of immigration, key issues, and some perspective necessary to understand the long haul. It's a particularly relevant subject in light of the disgraceful SPP machinations by the three reactionary leaders in Montebello, and their corporate bosses, who are looking at making the shipment of goods easier while tightening the lid on their police state approach to the citizenry.
This is all, of course, in stark contrast to Cuban immigration, which is virtually automatic. But then, the US has been at war with Cuba for decades and anything to undermine and destroy that country's socialist system is OK and the usual bigotry, vigilantism and anti-worker attitudes suddenly evaporate.
[ 20 August 2007: Message edited by: N.Beltov ]
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posted 20 August 2007 05:38 AM
