200,000 flood Washington, DC, to demand immigrants’ rights

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VOL. 28, NO. 4, APRIL 2010 WWW.SOCIALISTACTION.ORG U.S. / CANADA $1 On March 21, some 200,000 people, overwhelmingly Latino immigrants, gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to demand immigration reform. Thou­ sands of people rode in on buses, traveling across the country so they could participate in the march in the nation’s capital, making it the largest demonstration to have taken place since Obama became president. They came with their friends, their families, their unions, their churches, and their local community groups, hold­ ing colorful banners, chanting, and demanding an alter­ native to the increasingly harsh climate that many im­ migrants face in the U.S. today.

Lively crowds of youth, workers, and families chanted, “¡Sí se puede!” while waving American flags or holding homemade signs that declared, “No human being is il­ legal!” or “Legalization for all!” Others carried signs that asked Obama to live up to the promises he had made to the immigrant community.

The rally in Washington, D.C., wasn’t organized by community groups and churches but by Reform Immi­ gration for America (RIFA), a group with strong ties to the Democratic Party and millions of dollars to spend on promoting the Obama administration’s version of immigration reform. RIFA backs immigration reform proposals like Rep. Luis Gutierrez’s (D-Ill.) bill, the Com­ prehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act of 2009 (CIR ASAP 2009). The Guti­ errez proposal, while offering an earned path to citizen­ ship for most undocumented immigrants, counterposes this offer of “legalization” with increased enforcement provisions like E-verify and border militarization, and the first steps towards an expanded guest-worker pro­ gram. The Obama administration, on the other hand, has announced that it will back the forthcoming SchumerGraham immigration reform proposal, an even more draconian version of the Gutierrez bill.

Many people at the march expressed frustration with Obama’s lack of action on immigration reform during his first year in office. “We’ve been waiting for so long,” Rudy Romero, 19, told The New York Times. “I know it takes time, but a promise is a promise. We are demand­ ing it today.” A young woman, Andrea Rentaria, added, “We want to step up and say, ‘Hey, wake up. We’re here. We’re still waiting. We’ve given you time to settle in. When is this going happen?’”

President Obama himself did not attend the immigra­ tion rally on March 21, but he did address the crowd via a pre-taped video speech. At first, the crowd cheered loudly for the president, but as he continued to speak, many faces began to fall.

“Real change doesn’t start in the White House or the halls of Congress. It starts with people like you, in com­ munities across this country standing up and making your voices heard,” Obama began. But then he went on to congratulate Senators Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on their soon-to-be-released legislative proposal for immigration reform. “They de­ veloped a framework that includes common sense, ef­ fective strategies to protect our borders and enforce the law while offering a path to citizenship for hardworking people who register, pay taxes, pay a fine, and agree to play by the rules,” said Obama. “You know as well as I do that this won’t happen overnight but if we work to­ gether across ethnic, state and party lines, we can build a future worthy of our history as a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws.”

Astrid Rieken / Getty Images The Schumer-Graham proposal on immigration re­ form, announced to the press several days before the march, is a far cry from the legalization for all demanded by the crowds that filled the National Mall on Sunday. “Our plan has four pillars: requiring biometric Social Security cards to ensure that illegal workers cannot get jobs; fulfilling and strengthening our commitments on border security and interior enforcement; creating a process for admitting temporary workers; and imple­ menting a tough but fair path to legalization for those already here,” wrote Schumer and Graham in the Wash­ ington Post on March 19.

According to the article, that “tough but fair path to legalization” would require undocumented immigrants to admit they broke the law, perform community ser­ vice, pay back taxes and fines, learn English, and pass background checks, all before going to the “back of the line” to apply for a Green Card. Many immigrants are still waiting in line after the amnesty of 1986, caught up in endless bureaucratic backlogs. The Schumer-Graham proposal would only force families to wait even longer to be reunited.

Even worse, the Schumer-Graham proposal fails to end the raids and deportations that have terrorized immi­ grant communities. Rather, it increases interior enforce­ ment and border militarization programs that have lead to the deaths and maltreatment of thousands of immi­ grants. And the guest-worker programs it proposes to control future flows of low-skilled immigrant workers would only open the door for low wages and increased exploitation of immigrant and U.S.-born workers alike. Expanded use of employer sanctions tactics like E-verify (continued on page 8, in “Democrats’ health ‘reform’ bails out insurance and drug corporations”)

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Orlando Sierra / AFP / Getty Images

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INSIDE SOCIALIST ACTION: Repression in Honduras — 2 March 20 antiwar rallies — 3

Israel, U.S. pretend to quarrel — 4 Iraq War’s 7th anniversary — 5 Obama’s Health Care Act — 6 Crisis looms in Nepal — 8 New Health Care Act Insurance companies See page 6.

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