¡Lucha y Resiste! está circulando este artículo por Elías Jaua Milano, el Ministro de Poder Popular para la Educación de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela, sobre la crisis de la frontera entre los EEUU y México.

Minneapolis, MN – More than 100 people came to a noon rally, June 1, to protest the Trump administration’s policy of separating immigrant children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. The protest at the U.S. Courthouse downtown was called on very short notice.

New York, NY – On Nov. 28 in Brooklyn, at around noon, lawyers staged a massive walkout when the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) grabbed a defendant from the hallway midway through a court hearing.

Saint Paul, MN – More than 70 immigrant rights activists and concerned community members packed the May 24 Metropolitan Council meeting at a protest called by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC). The Met Council oversees Metro Transit buses and trains as well as the Transit Police. The protesters held signs that read “Fire the cop,” “No more deportations” and “Metro Transit: Don't be Trump's anti-immigrant shock troops.”

St. Paul, MN – Seventy people protested outside the Whipple Federal Building, March 24, to send the message “No more deportations” and “ICE out of our communities” to the Trump administration. The emergency response protest was called just two days earlier in response to local provocations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and its umbrella organization, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Minneapolis, MN – Students from at least 12 Minneapolis and suburban high schools walked out of school, Jan. 20. at noon to protest the current wave of immigration raids and deportations happening around the country. After walking out, the students converged at Martin Luther King Park in south Minneapolis for food and an open mic where students spoke about their experience with family members and friends being deported. Students then left the park and marched down major Minneapolis streets including Nicollet Avenue and Lake Street.

Houston, TX – Over 50 activists protested outside of the Harris County sheriff's office, Oct. 10, against a series of recent ICE raids. Every month, the Harris County sheriff's office deports over 1000 immigrants. It has deported nearly 25,000 immigrants since 2008 – the fourth largest number in the entire U.S. Last month, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), along with the Department of Labor, Harris County sheriff’s office, and the Houston police department raided the Espiga De Oro tortilla factory under the pretense of the 'concern' over the treatment of workers.

Milwaukee, WI – Activists, led by Youth Empowered in the Struggle (YES), shut down Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in downtown here, June 19. At 6:00 a.m. ten activists chained their arms together through PVC piping and sat in front of the building’s garage doors to block ICE vehicles from leaving to arrest more people. Recently, the immigration raids have started somewhere between 5:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. About 100 people rallied in support of the chained together activists, in front of the garage doors.

Milwaukee, WI – Activists, led by Youth Empowered in the Struggle (YES), shut down Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in downtown here, June 19. At 6:00 a.m. ten activists chained their arms together through PVC piping and sat in front of the building’s garage doors to block ICE vehicles from leaving to arrest more people. Recently, the immigration raids have started somewhere between 5:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. About 100 people rallied in support of the chained together activists, in front of the garage doors.

Tampa, FL – Activists gathered front of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office, May 1, to demand not one more deportation.

Milwaukee, WI – Taking a stand against courthouse intimidation by Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE), immigrant rights organizers at Voces de la Frontera rallied outside the ICE office in downtown Milwaukee on February 24, 2014.

PHOENIX, AZ – At midnight on May 31, Emilio Hernandez heard a knock on the front door. With the rest of his family sound asleep, he walked to the door and opened it. He couldn’t believe what he saw. There standing in the doorway was his wife, Bertha Hernandez.

Riverside, CA – On March 16, over 300 people, mostly Chicanos and Latinos, came to the University of California-Riverside for the Alliance for Immigration Reform National Leadership Summit. A similar conference was held in Feb. 2006 at the Riverside Convention Center, which made the original call for mass marches against the criminalization of immigrants on March 10 and 25 of 2006.

For several years, immigrant rights activists have said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is systematically carrying out mass deportations of immigrants who have done nothing wrong, resulting in well over 1 million deportations during the first four years of the Obama administration. This has caused the separation of untold thousands of families and the tearing apart of Chicano and Latino communities around the country – simply to fill arbitrary deportation quotas. ICE officials and the White House denied such allegations. On February 15, 2013, USA Today newspaper broke the story in a front page article based on newly released documents that verify what activists have been saying – that ICE has in fact been intentionally targetting 'low-priority' immigrants for mass deportations, through methods such as mass searches of drivers license databases and checkpoints set up near workplaces and neighborhoods thought to have many immigrant workers. One checkpoint referenced in the USA Today article was near Asheville, NC. Here Fight Back! News has an exclusive interview with Bobby Sullivan, who was stopped repeatedly at a checkpoint near Asheville, North Carolina – likely the same checkpoint referenced in the USA Today article. Woodfin, NC – Bobby Sullivan goes to work every day from his home near Asheville, NC. One day something strange started happening on his way to work: he kept getting stopped at a police checkpoint. What was going on? The police, along with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), had set up an immigration checkpoint on a road near his home.

Los Angeles, CA – Hundreds marched here Dec. 10, protesting “Secure Communities,” the Immigration Custom Enforcement/police program that attacks poor and working class immigrants, mostly Mexican and Central American, who are caught up in traffic or other minor infractions.

Saint Paul, MN – Amidst the flurry of budget cuts hastily pushed through on July 19 and signed on July 20 on the 20th day of the state government shutdown, immigrant rights activists claimed one victory and one defeat amidst the chaos.

_Immigrant rights movement declares a victory, pushes forward effort to stop deportations _

St. Paul, MN – On April 14, immigrant rights activists in Minnesota celebrated a victory as Governor Mark Dayton announced he would not pursue an Executive Order collaborating with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on deportations and enforcement programs.

En el primer año de la nueva administración hubo cambio pero no progreso

Hace un año, los chicanos, mexicanos y centroamericanos celebraron el fin de ocho años de la administración de Bush. Además de lanzar dos guerras y provocar la mayor crisis financiera desde la Gran Depresión, la administración de Bush intensificó la represión contra los inmigrantes. Las redadas y deportaciones de los obreros por el Servicio de Inmigración y Aduanas (ICE) se duplicó, y luego se duplicó nuevamente con Bush. El gobierno de Bush implementó el programa conocido como 287(g), en el que ICE trabaja junto con la policía local y permite que racistas como el alcalde Joe Arpaio de Arizona hostigue a los chicanos, mexicanos y centroamericanos. La ley de octubre de 2006 “Secure Fence Act” intensificó la militarización de la frontera con México, contribuyendo a la muerte de más inmigrantes intentando entrar a los Estados Unidos.

_Year One of the New Administration Saw Change but not Progress _

One year ago Chicanos, Mexicanos and Central Americans celebrated the end of the eight years of Bush administration. In addition to launching two wars and ushering in the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression, the Bush administration stepped up repression against immigrants. Raids and deportations of workers by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) doubled, redoubled and then doubled again under Bush. The Bush administration implemented the notorious 287(g) program, where ICE teamed up with local police and sheriffs allowed racists such as Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio to harass Chicanos, Mexicanos and Central Americans. The October 2006 “Secure Fence Act” stepped up the militarization of the U.S.-Mexico border, contributing to the deaths of more and more immigrants trying to enter the United States.

En la primavera del 2006 millones de latinos y otros inmigrantes se manifestaron en contra de la propuesta de ley Sensenbrenner, HR4437, la cual hubiera criminalizado a los indocumentados. El movimiento pidió la residencia legal para los indocumentados y se opuso a la propuesta de la administración Bush para un programa de trabajadores huéspedes.