The Trump administration has been discussing a proposal to mobilize up to 100,000 National Guard troops in the four states bordering Mexico (California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas) as well as seven more bordering these states (Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana). The National Guard would be used for a massive round-up and deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants, which Trump has pledged to do. The round-up would be based on Trump’s Jan. 25 executive order, which expands to the target of deportations to virtually at least eight of the 11 million undocumented.

In addition, this executive order called for the expansion of the 287(g) program, the so-called “Secure Communities” which would be used to authorize the National Guard to round up immigrants for deportation. The executive order also called for a crack-down on local institutions that are considered sanctuary cities or on colleges that state that they will not act on the behalf of ICE.

The use of the National Guard, a domestic military force, would be a form of military occupation of the historic territory of the Chicano nation. In the Southwest, the descendants of Mexican settlers and immigrants have evolved into a nation that shares a common culture, economy and land in southern and central California, southern Arizona, New Mexico, parts of Colorado, and southern and western Texas – the areas targeted by the proposed mobilization of the National Guard.

For more than a century immigrants from Mexico, driven by poverty resulting from the U.S. domination of Mexico, and drawn by American farms and businesses seeking cheap labor, have been coming to the American Southwest, strengthening the Chicano population and nation. More recently, growing numbers of immigrants from Central American have joined in the migration to the U.S.

The liberal wing of the ruling rich wants to both divide (through deportations) and incorporate (through legalization) Mexican and Central American immigrants and guarantee a continued supply of cheap temporary workers through Comprehensive Immigration Reform. However the right wing, represented by President Trump, is growing more fearful of the ‘Browning of America’ and wants to both deport the undocumented immigrants as well as cut back on legal immigration. A military deportation force of National Guard would do both by deporting millions of undocumented while terrorizing the legal immigrants and citizens who are the family, friends, neighbors and co-workers with the undocumented.

The editors of Fight Back! urge all our readers to oppose any Trump plans for mass deportations. We see the struggle of Chicanos, Mexicanos and Central Americans – as well as other oppressed nationalities such as African Americans, and indigenous people – for full equality as revolutionary movements, and we support the right to self-determination, up to and including independence from the U.S. for the Chicano and other oppressed nations in the U.S.

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