Directed by Christopher Martin and John Pilger, The War on Democracy (2007) is a sobering and critical examination of the United States’ deadly imperialism in the Americas.

Examining the history from the mid-20th century going to the 2000s, Pilger examines the bipartisan attacks against Latin America, especially on the socialist countries and those that are not aligned with the interests of U.S. imperialists. Special focus is given to the 2002 failed coup d'etat attempt in Venezuela, featuring interviews with Hugo Chávez.

After the documentary, Angel Naranjos, a member of FRSO, led a discussion on what the audience learned, the historical development of American imperialism, the decline of imperialism, the fight for national liberation and how the working class and people of oppressed nations must unite against capitalism and use socialism to crush their enemies.

As imperialism continues to more depraved actions, the conflict between the oppressed nations of the world and the monopoly capitalists sharpens. All over the world, we are seeing examples of freedom fighters defeating and leaving the monopoly capitalists embarrassed and confused. In Iran the U.S.’s imperialist war has backfired spectacularly; Palestinian resistance continues to hold firm against Israel and the U.S., and here in the belly of the beast, the American working class is striking blows against Trump's attacks. If these fights have shown one thing, it has shown that when the people unite against the imperialists, they can win!

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Chicago, IL – On Friday, May 1, students at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) walked out of class at 10:30 in the morning to demand an end to the deportations, legalization for all undocumented immigrants, and that the university administration take immediate steps to make the UIC a sanctuary campus. Over 100 protesters, a mix of undergraduate students and striking members of the university’s Graduate Employees Organization (GEO) Local 6297, gathered in the UIC quad.

The call for student walkouts across the country on May 1 was put out by the Legalization 4 All (L4A) Network in collaboration with New Students for a Democratic Society (New SDS). At UIC, three student organizations, Anakbayan at UIC, Mexican Students de Aztlán (MeSA), and New SDS at UIC, answered the call and co-organized their university’s walkout.

The program included speakers from nearly a dozen endorsing organizations. Sathvika Gowda, a member of New SDS at UIC, opened the program stating, “This past year we witnessed Chicago’s immigrant communities on the South and Southwest sides be terrorized by ICE and Operation Midway Blitz. Shame!”

Gowda continued, “At the same time, UIC’s immigrant students have had to come to school in fear, worrying about the wellbeing of their families, friends, neighborhoods and communities. All the while, UIC administration did nothing to protect our immigrant students right here. It has been our cultural centers, their staff and us as the students who have acted to protect and make a safe space for UIC’s immigrant and oppressed students in the face of our administration’s inaction!”

Last year, Chicago was targeted by the Trump administration for a large-scale immigration enforcement operation. For many UIC students, that fall semester at the university was a nightmare as ICE thugs terrorized communities across the city. On October 8, two women were violently kidnapped on campus grounds, leading hundreds of UIC students to protest ICE’s actions and UIC administration’s inaction.

At the time, the university administration refused to condemn the abduction and tried to wash their hands of all responsibility – something they were later forced to walk back. The two women were eventually released from ICE custody, as it was later revealed that they were Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) recipients.

A MeSA member and undergraduate student at UIC spoke next, “Coming from a mixed-status family, I know that we are often encouraged to stay silent to protect ourselves and our families. But I am here to tell you that my family, despite not always being so supportive of my activism, instilled me with a faith that teaches me that a divorce from the conditions of oppressed people is blasphemy, a faith that doesn't work for the people it represents is a faith that is dead!”

A graduate worker representing GEO Local 6297, said, “In bargaining for a better, fair, and equitable contract, the admin has refused to make progress. This union demands a livable wage, affordable healthcare and protections from the fascists in ICE. I believe that we will win – not because it is easy – but because we must.”

Ángel Naranjos, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization said, “May Day is a reminder that the people organized can land blows against this system. Our movements are going to come out of this era stronger than they went in. As students and young people we must remember that the future is ours, but only if we’re willing to fight for it!”

President of New SDS, Erin Boyle, gave the final speech, “We’re up against a dying system that’s trying to crush all that’s good in the world so a few men can stuff their pockets. But we have the opportunity to organize in our communities, in our workplaces and on our campuses, and not alone.”

After the rally, MeSA member Alyson Sanchez introduced an art project that she had been working on titled La Fiesta: Joy as Resistance. Sanchez revealed two piñatas depicting Donald Trump as a pig in orange makeup for protesters to destroy. Students and youth leapt at the chance to participate in the Mexican party tradition and claim some candy.

Then, the students who had walked out gathered once again. They marched off campus and joined the citywide May Day demonstration in Chicago’s Union Park which saw thousands of people, among them many students and youth, participate.

#ChicagoIL #IL #StudentMovement #ImmigrantRights #SDS #MESA #GEO

Chicago, IL – Over 8000 people gathered in Union Park on May 1 to celebrate International Workers’ Day and march demanding protection for workers and immigrant rights.

Since May Day last year, Trump sent ICE and Customs and Border Patrol to Chicago for months of terror, with over 3000 members of immigrant communities arrested and taken away. The large contingents marching from immigrant communities in Union Park was a statement of courage.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said during his speech, “We are not going to stop fighting for every single worker and every single working family in this city and in this country and in this world,” and demanded that “we get our fair share of the equitable distribution of the wealth. Are you with me workers?”

Some of the principal organizers of this May Day protest included the Chicago Teacher Union (CTU), Service Employees International Union Health Care Illinois/Indiana, the Coalition Against the Trump Agenda (CATA), and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR).

CTU President Stacy Davis Gates said, “Workers united with communities, across cultures, across industries, win the fight every time. Do not give up your power to assemble and do not give up your power to organize. Workers over billionaires!”

This year CTU organized to make May Day a day of civic action in Chicago. Together with families, they brought out over 800 high school students to participate in the protest. Hundreds of university students and graduate employees were also in attendance.

Nadia Alyafai spoke at the rally for the U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN) and CATA. She said, “Our city is home to one of the largest Palestinian communities in the United States, alongside a broader Arab immigrant population that has long been at the frontlines of the immigrant rights and other movements in this city. We were there alongside many of you when we put almost a million people in the streets to defeat the Sensenbrenner bill in 2006, and now 20 years later we still are fighting strong for justice for our communities.”

CATA marched with a banner demanding “Legalization for all. Defend voting rights. Stop all U.S. wars!” They marched together with the immigrant rights contingent organized by ICIRR.

Chicago has played a crucial role in the labor and immigrant rights movements. May Day was born in Chicago, the center of the nationwide1886 strike for the eight-hour workday. The resulting repression of the labor movement led to workers around the world declaring May 1 to be International Workers’ Day. On March 10, 2006, Chicago held the first mega march of the immigrant rights movement. That movement then called for nationwide marches on May 1. Over 2 million immigrants and their supporters took to the streets that day, which also brought May Day back to the labor movement in the U.S.

#ChicagoIL #IL #Labor #ImmigrantRights #MayDay #FRSO #CATA #Trump #CTU

New Students for a Democratic Society at UIC decided to hold this film screening as this April marks 24 years since this U.S.-backed attempted coup and the current U.S. attacks on Venezuela and President Nicolás Maduro.

The film showed how Hugo Chávez rose to power by fighting and providing an alternative to neoliberalism, making him popular among the poor and hated by the rich. One of Chávez’s most important issues was using the profits from Venezuela’s abundant oil for social programs to benefit all Venezuelans, instead of simply lining the pockets of the wealthiest.

One key aspect of the film was showing how corporate media in Venezuela slandered and spread lies about Hugo Chávez and the movement he led. This happened throughout the entirety of his political life but culminated during the attempted coup when opposition TV media accused Chavistas of firing on crowds of opposition protesters. However, Barley and O’Briain exposed the holes in this narrative by showing that the channels spreading this narrative purposefully didn’t show the full picture in their video clips and showed how opposition leaders admitted to orchestrating a media plan to overthrow the democratically elected President Hugo Chávez.

In the discussion led by New SDS members Dani Espinoza and Victor Silva, students talked about the events of the film in relation to the current day and issues of corporate media bias against popular movements, the history of U.S. foreign involvement, struggles against neoliberalism around the world and more.

In the discussion, Sathvika Gowda from New SDS explained, “Venezuela is one of the most oil-rich countries in the world and Hugo Chávez and the Bolivarian movement have used this money to benefit the common good, which is why they are so hated by the U.S. oil corporations and U.S. government.”

This sentiment was echoed by others who discussed other instances of U.S. involvement in Latin America motivated by extreme corporate greed and disregard for the people of the continent.

Before ending the event, students expressed the importance of standing against U.S. attacks and involvement in foreign countries today, and the need for students to stand against the current U.S. intervention in Venezuela and kidnapping of current President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.

#ChicagoIL #IL #AntiWarMovement #International #Venezuela #StudentMovement #SDS

Chicago, IL – On Wednesday April 22, a crowd of about 50 people gathered in an emergency rally in front of the Chicago Philippines Consulate. They were protesting both the mistreatment and deportation of Kuya J., a Filipino immigrant, and the annual joint military exercises taking place in the Philippines, known as the Balikatan exercises.

Since the escalation of attacks on immigrant communities across the country, Filipino immigrant rights organizations have fought for Filipinos who are held by ICE and at risk of deportation.

A member of Malaya read a letter from Kuya J.’s family stating, “It’s sad to say, if not for Tanggol Migrante, Filipinos going through distress and hardships would have been so hopeless. Because this should have been the responsibility of the Philippines government representatives, mainly the Philippines consulate and Philippines embassy to protect the rights of Filipinos overseas.”

Tanggol Migrante, a central organization to the struggle of Filipino immigrants organized the protest, has also been contacting the Philippines government, mainly through the Chicago consulate, to discuss Kuya J.’s case and coordinate the release of Filipino immigrants at the time they are held by ICE.

“They [the Filipino government and consulate] think time will pass after exposing their accounts of lies and greed, and their negligence of Kuya J. and other cases will be forgotten, but we remember,” said a member of Anakbayan at UIC, a Filipino youth and student activist organization.

The consulate was supposed to support Kuya J. and his family through the Assistance to National Funds that the government provides to Filipino nationals abroad. However, they were denied assistance, despite the embassy being contacted many times online, through phone and even in person. Instead, it was discovered that these funds were being embezzled for personal expenses, such as renovating consulate officials' homes.

“What does this day tell us about the priorities of the U.S. and Philippines government? It shows us that they would rather invest in military and war exercises and the displacement of the Filipino people than genuinely support what is needed for our livelihood and land stewardship,” stated a member of the Philippines-U.S. Solidarity Organization (PUSO).

While many Filipino nationals in the U.S. face deportation, the Philippines government helps bankroll the Balikatan exercises, the joint exercises with the U.S. and other countries.

The same morning the protest was held, news broke of the Philippines Armed Forces carrying out a strafing attack on Negros Island, killing student leader Alyssa Alano and people’s journalist RJ Ledesma, as well as 17 other innocent civilians.

For more updates on actions surrounding immigrant detentions in the Filipino community in the Chicago area follow @migrantechicago and @Tanggolmigrantechicago. For more updates and actions surrounding military suppression of the Filipino people in the Philippines follow @anakbayanchicago, @malayachicago, @puso.chicago, and @anakbayanatuic.

#ChicagoIL #IL #ImmigrantRights #International #Philippines

Chicago, IL – On Tax Day, April 15, a crowd of protesters gathered in Chicago to oppose Google’s complicity in Israel’s genocide and occupation of Palestinians and ICE’s attacks on immigrant communities. Protesters demanded no taxes for war or for ICE, legalization for all, U.S. out of the Middle East, no war with Iran, and the end to U.S. aid to Israel.

Protesters stood in front of Google’s building in the West Loop holding signs and banners reading “Michael Frerichs, stop buying Israel Bonds,” “Like Zionism, apartheid cannot last,” “We need a regime change in DC, not Iran or Venezuela” and “End CPD and ICE collaboration.” While speakers rallied the crowd, others gathered petition signatures from the passersby to demand Illinois divest its public funds from Israel.

“Google has been complicit in genocide in the Gaza Strip and in Palestine. Google’s Nimbus project provides the Israeli military with AI technology and cloud computing services to help the Israeli military choose targets and bomb them in the genocide that has killed over 70,000 people directly and thousands more indirectly,” said Husam Marajda with USPCN.

“We demand that Google immediately stop all business with the Israeli military and the federal government that is committing mass violence here in the U.S. through ICE, but is also committing war crimes in Iran.”

Maya Sánchez with IRWC described Google’s role in the kidnapping of our immigrant neighbors, stating, “Google is not some neutral tech company, it is an active participant in systems of oppression. Google holds contracts with the U.S. government including DHS [Department of Homeland Security] and ICE.”

She continued, drawing the connection between U.S. and Israeli aggression towards Palestine and attacks on immigrant communities in the U.S.: “What happens in Palestine and Iran is not separate from our struggles with ICE here at home. The same systems of surveillance and control abroad are used here in the states. Spyware and other technologies developed for the military are used for policing and immigration enforcement. The IOF uses Palestine and other parts of the Middle East as a testing ground for surveillance and violent technology in America.”

Caeli Kean with AWC called for ongoing mass protests in response to these injustices, shouting, “We are not helpless, because we have the numbers, and we can unite and fight back. The observable truth is that millions of people across the country are standing with immigrant communities against ICE and across the world, billions of people are standing with Palestine, with Venezuela, with Cuba, and other oppressed nations and people!”

The action ended with protesters chanting, “Money for jobs and education! Not for war and occupation! Google, Google, it is time! We charge you with genocide!”

The rally was organized by Anti-War Committee – Chicago (AWC), US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN), and the Immigrants Rights Working Committee (IRWC) – a committee of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.

To hear about future actions opposing imperialist wars and attacks on immigrant communities follow @antiwarchicago, @uspcn, @caarprnow on social media.

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