Richfield, MN – Hundreds gathered in Richfield, March 1, for a protest and march to demand an end to the attacks on immigrants and to stand in solidarity with Minnesota immigrant and refugee communities. People showed their strong support through loud chants and a march to city hall. 

Speakers denounced Trump’s attacks on immigrants and promises that deportations will increase. The Department of Homeland Security reports that they have arrested over 20,000 undocumented immigrants since Trump took office, nearly half of who are reported to have no criminal record. Trump is using mass detention and deportation to terrorize immigrants, families and communities. 

The protest was organized by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) with endorsements from many local immigrant rights groups including Minnesota Immigrant Movement (MIM), Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) MN, and Asamblea de Derechos Civiles. 

MIRAC member Miguel Hernandez, who grew up in Richfield, thanked the local immigrant community, stating that immigrants “built up Richfield when businesses were closing 20 years ago. You can’t go one mile without running into some type of immigrant business.”

The group ended in front of several immigrant-owned businesses. Organizers spoke to the negative impact the administration has had on local businesses, encouraging protesters to buy from immigrant-owned restaurants and shops to keep the community thriving even under the racist threats of the Trump administration. 

MIRAC will continue mobilizing in the streets to fight against attacks on immigrants in Minnesota, including on May 1, to celebrate International Workers Day. More information to come on that protest and more will be on all social media platforms under the username MIRACMN.

#RichfieldMN #MIRACMN #MIRAC #Immigration #NoMoreDeportations #NiUnaMas #CAIR #Refugee #Trump #ImmigrantRights

Los Angeles, CA – On February 17, over 1000 Chicanos gathered at Placita Olvera in downtown Los Angeles to protest against ICE deportations and to fight back against Trump's racist, right-wing agenda.

The rally and march were called for by Chicana activists who used social media to get the word out. Recent protests in Los Angeles have brought out large crowds of Chicanos ready to stand up and fight, with the last one, on February 2, drawing tens of thousands who took to the streets. That afternoon protesters even took over the 101 Freeway, shutting it down for hours and completely overwhelming LAPD, LASD and CHP, which were completely unprepared and caught off guard by Raza fighting back.

The rally and march on Presidents’ Day was officially endorsed and supported by the Community Self-Defense Coalition, which is a new coalition recently announced in Los Angeles, consisting of over 60 organizations and unions. Growing every day, the Community Self-Defense Coalition is determined to defend Raza out in the streets in the face of attacks by migra. The program featured speakers from different members of the coalition like Centro CSO, Union Del Barrio, Black Alliance for Peace SoCal and many more. The spirited march made stops at the Metropolitan Detention Center and City Hall before circling back to Placita Olvera.

During the march, the large protest had a soundtrack and that played music, and ledchants like “Raza si, migra no! ” “La que no salta es migra” (Whoever doesn’t jump is migra) and “El Pueblo unido jamás será vencido” (The people united will never be defeated). The march had multiple banners of the different organizations as well dozens of flags representing countries in South America, Central America, Palestine, and Lebanon.

The leading truck flew a large Aztlán flag through the sunny spring morning in Los Angeles. When the march passed through historic Little Tokyo, the organizers shouted out and gave their respects to the Japanese people who themselves were forcefully displaced and put into concentration camps by the United States during World War II.

Veria Topete, a member of Centro CSO, said at the rally, “It felt very beautiful and empowering being with our community, standing in unity to let our brothers and sisters know that it’s not just their fight it’s our fight and they are not alone. That we are here to stand up and defend them.”

Karina Lopez, who represented Centro CSO on the program, said, “Don’t let this be the last action you take. This is only the beginning of the struggle that we have ahead of us when we organize and connect our struggles, we build power. Trump is also saying he will take over Gaza, we say hands off Palestine! Our fight against repression is connected with the fight to liberate Palestine!”

Centro CSO is a grassroots organization focused on fighting for oppressed Chicanos in East Los Angeles and Boyle Heights. They uplift the demands of Legalization for All, Community Control of the Police and Protect Public Education. They are proud members of the Legalization 4 All Network and affiliates of the National Alliance against Racist and Political Repression (NAARPR).

You can find them on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook under the username @CentroCSO

#LosAngelesCA #NAARPR #Legalization4All #LegalizationforAll #ELA #BoyleHeights #Chicano #VivaLaRaza #NoDeportations #ICE #ImmigrantRights #Immigration #FreePalestine #Aztlan #Trump #PresidentsDay #LAPD #LASD #CHP

Los Angeles, CA – Chicano high school students took to the streets, February 20, to protest Trump's ICE raids, arrests, and deportations. All over the city, LAUSD students walked out of school chanting “Stop Donald Trump” and “Raza si, migra no.”

Centro CSO organizers supported East LA students at Garfield High School (GHS) by providing sound, large banners and snacks on the warm day. Gabriel Quiroz Jr led chants with the energetic students like, “Viva La Raza, viva Mexico!”

The GHS students marched to Torres High School to unite the march with more students. The march continued in the heart of East LA with many neighbors waving and honking their horns in support.

The marchers arrived at Mariachi Plaza where students from over six high schools had already arrived for an energetic rally. SEIU 721 provided a large truck and sound system. Many students spoke, denouncing Trump and ICE, expressing support for their families and community.

Longtime Chicano revolutionary Carlos Montes also participated in the march, being a graduate of GHS and a leader in the original ELA high school walkout of March 1968. “I have to be here with you to say no deportations,” stated Montes.

During the rally several LAPD police officers attempted to quickly enter the plaza, but they were met by several safety monitors wearing bright yellow vests asking police not to enter the plaza as this was a well-organized event. One of the LAPD officers, Johnny Altamirano aggressively pushed and knocked down Felipe Cazares, director of external organizing for SEIU 721, who has provided support for the students for the last two weeks. Felipe was laid flat on the sidewalk.

More safety monitors formed a line in front of the police in an attempt to de-escalate the situation. But officer Altamirano called for backup until over 20 police arrived, many wearing helmets and batons. The safety monitors held their line and asked the students to continue the rally and ignore the police. Eventually the police left, and the rally continued without any further incident. Felipe Cazares was taken to the LA General Hospital and released shaken, bruised but not deterred to support our students and community.

#LosAngelesCA #SEIU721 #ELA #GHS #LA #chicano #vivalaraza #Immigration #ImmigrantRights #legalization4all #legalizationforall #nodeportations #ICE #policecrimes

Minneapolis, MN – In frigid weather, February 20, 50 people rallied with the Climate Justice Committee (CJC) to oppose Trump's attacks on the environment, along with the barrage of other attacks that have happened in the first month of Trump’s presidency. 

Speakers connected Trump's attacks on immigrants, trans rights, workers and Palestine to the rollback of environmental protections that Trump instituted in his first days in office.

Trump has used executive orders to push more fossil fuels and end the U.S. role in the Paris Climate Accords, ensuring that previously agreed upon goals to curb climate change won’t happen. The CJC speaker emphasized how every tenth of a percent of rising temperatures mean more intense weather, food scarcity and increasing energy costs that fall disproportionately on oppressed nationality and working class families and their communities. They also talked about the lack of action by Democrats like Senator Klobuchar, whose office the rally was in front of.

Rally goers chanted, “Stand up fight back” as the emcee rotated the attacks on immigrants, trans rights, Palestine, and workers that are happening from Trump and his cronies. 

Kristen Bledsoe from Minnesota Abortion Action Committee talked about the heart wrenching case of Sam Nordquist, a Minnesota native who had recently been tortured and killed in New York as a logical conclusion of the transphobic rhetoric coming from the Trump administration. 

Bledsoe ended her speech with, “We have to resist the impulse to shut down and hide. We have to recognize that the cruelty and the chaos of the Trump administration is meant to make us lose focus, and we have to counter that by being more strategic, more united, and more organized than ever before.” 

“Trump’s attacks on DEI show the white supremacist mindset, trying to kill anything that would make this country more equal for those who have been left out for centuries,” stated Minnesota Workers United speaker Neil Radford. Radford called on rally goers to focus on solidarity of the working class that needs to stand together and not allow Trump and his ilk to divide us. 

Mira Altobell-Resendez from the Minnesota Immigrant Action Committee talked about the important work MIRAC is doing using Know Your Rights trainings with immigrant communities and allies to stand against ICE and governmental agencies. 

Trent Fast from the Minnesota Anti-War Committee made a clear case, “We need to be mad as hell at Donald Trump and his attacks on everyday working people here at home - and those in Palestine. We all have more in common with everyday Palestinians than we ever will with people like Donald Trump. Solidarity across movements is our sharpest weapon against his presidency. Because when we stand together, there's way more of us than there are of them!”

All of the speakers emphasized the importance of getting involved and building solidarity among the people’s movements to stand against the Trump attacks over the next four years and beyond.

#MinneapolisMN #TwinCities #CJC #ClimateJustice #MNAWC #AWC #ICE #MIRAC #Immigration #NoDeportations #DEI

Allendale, MI – On January 29, Grand Valley State University's Progressive Student Union (PSU) led a speak-out against the new Trump administration. People held signs relating to healthcare, immigration, LGBTQ rights and other causes. The mood was casual, and people joined the students in protest throughout the event.

PSU organizer Owen Frassetto said, “Trump and his administration are now waging attacks against all sorts of people in this country. We need to unite the organizations of these different groups to stand together against attacks on immigrants, on trans people, on public education, and so much more. Our work is cut out for us, but people are ready to stand together and act.”

Another organizer, Elisa Skinner, said, “If you think the direction the country is heading in is the best it can be, I invite you to take a look around and stand in someone else's shoes. We have families being ripped apart, laws and standards violated, and billionaires such as Elon Musk giving Nazi salutes and attending far-right rallies.”

Donald Trump's election has brought with it uncertainty in regard to civil rights and the future of oppressed people. As anew student organization, PSU is trying to unite all forces that can be united against Donald Trump on Grand Valley's campus.

The Progressive Student Union holds weekly meetings which are announced on their Instagram, @psugvsu

#AllendaleMI #GVSU #PSU #PSUGVSU #Trump #LGBTQ #LGBTQrights #Healthcare #Immigration

Fight Back! is circulating the following statement by the Legalization for All Network (L4A).

Legalization for All Network Statement on Biden Executive Order

The June 17 Biden Administration Executive Order to facilitate the legalization of spouses of U.S. citizens affects up to 500,000 undocumented people. The Legalization for All (L4A) network considers the order a positive step towards the goal of legalization for all of the undocumented.

At the same time, this positive action does not absolve the Biden administration of adopting a Trump-like policy on the U.S.-Mexico border. On June 4, 2024, Biden issued an effective ban on those seeking asylum. The ban goes into effect when the daily average of border arrests tops 2,500.

This spring, the average daily number of border arrests was 4,300. In other words, as many as 1,800 people a day attempting to cross the U.S./Mexico border now face quick deportation or being turned back to Mexico without starting an asylum claim.

Shortly following the ban, immigrant rights groups took to the streets around the country and in Washington D.C. demanding that Biden remove the ban and expand Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

Undocumented immigrants need much more concrete and secure immigration policies that are not at the mercy of an upcoming election. The newly announced executive order does the following:

• Allows undocumented people married to US citizen for ten years to legalize their status while remaining in the United States. This would benefit about 500,000 undocumented.
• Gives temporary status to undocumented children of US citizen parents, aiding about 50,000.

While L4A views this as a victory for our movement, Biden’s executive order applies to less than 5% of the undocumented.

President Biden and the Democrats have lost a considerable amount of voter and public support due to their role in the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people. At the same time, the Republican Party has made it clear that anti-immigrant measures are a centerpiece of their political agenda. Trump continues calling for mass deportations, more detention centers, and for other bigots, like Texas Governor Greg Abbott, to buildemergency facilities to further militarize the Rio Grande.

Rather than fall for the Biden administration's cynical political moves, L4A has endorsed both the march against the Republican National Convention and the Democratic National Convention. We ask all people and organizations who are part of our network or follow our work, to do the same and march with us in our immigrant rights contingents.

Send us a message now to notify us about your attendance at either the march on the RNC or DNC: Legalization for All on X, Instagram, Facebook or https://legalizationforall.wordpress.com/

#LegalizationForAll #Legalization4All #MarchOnTheRNC #MarchOnTheDNC #Biden #ExecutiveOrder #ImmigrantRights #Immigration #UndocumentedRights

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following call from the Legalization for All Network and other immigrant rights groups. We urge all progressive organizations to sign on and endorse it. You can do so here: https://www.facebook.com/notes/legalization-for-all/no-trump-wall-no-state-of-emergency/2336613779684475/

On the campaign trail, candidate Trump said that Mexico would pay for his wall. President Trump could not get funding for his wall on the U.S./Mexico border even when his Republican Party controlled the House, the Senate and the White House. Then he shut down parts of the Federal Government for over a month. Almost four hundred thousand Federal workers were put out of their jobs and more were made to work without pay. In addition, workers for government contractors are not getting back pay. To get the funding for his racist wall, Trump is taking it a step further by threatening to declare a State of Emergency. With already thousands of U.S. troops mobilized to the border, a State of Emergency would heighten the tension of armed troops and border agents who already unleashed tear gas on refugees. We say No Trump Wall, No State of Emergency!

The only crisis at the border is the one Trump is creating. Thousands of refugee and immigrant children have been held in camps at the border, and some are dying in detention. Central American refugees, many if not most women and children, are fleeing violence so bad that even the U.S. State Department has advised U.S. tourists not to go there! We support asylum for the Central American refugees!

During his partial government shutdown, Trump had offered a temporary extension on DACA (Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals) and TPS (Temporary Protected Status) in exchange for billions of dollars for the wall. But Trump’s attempt to end DACA is already tied up in courts. What the Dreamers and TPS refugees need is legalization, not temporary extensions!

First he launched an attack against Mexicans, calling them, “Rapists, criminals, drug-dealers, and bad hombres,” then on Muslims, with his travel ban. Trump is a bigot who has demonized and dehumanized refugees, a racist who has referred to Central American and African countries as “shitholes.” Now it is Central Americans and back to Mexicans who are his main target. He claims that immigrants and refugees are coming to take jobs, but Trump was the one who took jobs away from workers in the United States!

We ask you and your organizations to sign on to this statement to oppose Trump’s Wall and protest any attempt by him to declare a State of Emergency.

NO TRUMP WALL, NO STATE OF EMERGENCY!

RELEASE THE DETAINEES, ASYLUM FOR THE REFUGEES!

LEGALIZE THE DREAMERS!

#UnitedStates #AntiwarMovement #AntiRacism #Immigration #DACA #Antifascism #Trump

San Ysidro, CA – U.S. Border Patrol agents fired tear gas and rubber bullets into Mexico in response to a march organized by refugees, including many women and children, seeking asylum. The march had remained peaceful until Mexican authorities forced the refugees marching into a canal separating San Diego and Tijuana, according to the American Friends Service Committee. It was then that Border Patrol agents fired tear gas, flash bangs and rubber bullets into the crowd. One young girl is reportedly in critical condition after being “struck with tear gas” according to the Movimiento Cosecha. The world's busiest border crossing was subsequently closed on both sides.

The refugees are part of the larger refugee caravan of about 5000, made up of people fleeing Central American countries. The United States has backed right-wing coups and militant repression of workers’ movements over many years in these countries, leading to a mass exodus of people seeking to escape the escalating violence.

Rather than allow refugees to apply for asylum, particularly given the role the United States played in the declining conditions of their home nations, the Trump administration has instead dubbed this an “invasion,” and deployed military troops to the border. The U.S.-Mexico border has become increasingly militarized over the past 20 years and even more so in the last several months.

In response to this increasing militarization, a coalition of local San Diego and Los Angeles political organizations and immigrants' rights groups organized a march in solidarity with the refugee caravan. More than 500 people came to show support, chanting slogans like “Somos un pueblo sin fronteras” (we are one city without borders), “No borders, no nations, stop the deportations,” and “From Palestine to Mexico, these border walls have got to go.” The march began around 10 a.m. in San Ysidro on the U.S. side of the border, several hours before attack on the caravan.

#SanYsidroCA #AntiwarMovement #InJusticeSystem #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #AntiRacism #Immigration #Trump #Caravan

Suzuki pointed out that fight for citizenship rights date back to Dred Scott, whose fight for freedom ended in 1857 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that slaves, former slaves and the descendants of slave were not eligible for citizenship rights. This case led to the U.S. Civil War, where tens of thousands of African American gave their lives in a fight for freedom, along with hundreds of thousands of white Americans. After the Civil War, the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution passed, ending slavery, establishing birthright citizenship, and protecting the voting rights of African Americans.

Suzuki went on to say that with the rise of the anti-Chinese movement in the 1870s and 1880s, leading to the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, there were attempts to strip citizenship from the American-born children of Chinese immigrants. This led to the 1898 Supreme Court of the United States ruling 6-2 in the case of the United States v. Wong Kim Ark that the children of immigrants were U.S. citizens.

Suzuki said that Trump, the Republicans in congress and state governments, and the right-wing Supreme Court have been rolling back the 15th Amendment to carry out widespread voter suppression, especially against African Americans. Now they are trying to roll back the 14th Amendment to strip millions of Chicanos, Latinos, Asians, Arabs, Blacks and other oppressed nationalities of the citizenship and deny them the right to vote. Suzuki noted that Trump’s call is in line with his other anti-immigrant actions such as the anti-Muslim travel ban and sending troops to the Mexico-U.S. border in response to the large caravan of Central American refugees seeking asylum in the United States.

“We condemn all of these racist and outrageous actions by the Trump administration and congressional Republicans,” said Suzuki.

#SanJoseCA #PeoplesStruggles #immigrantRights #Immigration #Trump #BirthrightCitizenship

Kenosha, WI – Protesters rallied outside the Kenosha County Detention Center, July 7. Dozens came together to demand the abolishment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a show of solidarity with the detainees held in the center. Demonstrators hoped to raise local awareness of the impact that the federal agency has on Wisconsin’s immigrant communities, including the threats of detention and deportation.

People gathered before the march at Kenosha’s DMV on County Highway H. One of the organizers, John Fleissner, explained, “What we are doing is pointing our forces in the direction of the machine that is actively detaining people and deporting families from this country. We believe in the power of the working class to stop these horrible atrocities.”

Tania Chavez, an activist with Youth Empowered in the Struggle (YES) and DACA benefactor, expressed her anxiety about deportation, which threatens her family.

Then YES member Luis Tapia said, “Look at all of us, we’re together. And it’s great to see that I have people that will stand up for the people locked up, not being able to see their families.”

Tapia retold his chilling history of having to cross the border as a baby and the difficulties he and his brother had to endure just to get to safety within the U.S. Tapia ended his speech by calling, “If we don’t get it?” and the crowd responding, “Shut it down!”

The protesters formed a rank with banners and signs held high and proceeded to march up the highway, towards the detention center. Chants continued for several minutes followed by a speech from Fernanda Jimenez of YES. With power in her voice, she told her story of running from ICE and at the end her message was clear, “We need solidarity in the struggle if we hope to win!”

“We do not abolish ICE without standing with our Black and refugee communities, we do not pass a Clean Dream Act unless we stand with no Muslim ban, unless we stand with ending racial profiling. If you only stand for one issue, how can you stand for every issue? You stand for every issue; it is one struggle,” Jimenez said.

Considering Trump’s most recent order allowing for the detention of refugees indefinitely, this action is a beautiful and much-needed act of solidarity among the people of southeastern Wisconsin. Jess Patel, the primary organizer of the action, said this is the beginning of a long struggle and is looking forward to future actions within our communities.

Local community activists, namely members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), organized the rally.

#KenoshaWI #ImmigrantRights #ChicanoLatino #Wisconsin #Immigration #YouthEmpoweredInTheStruggleYES

Tampa, FL – Over 1500 community members gathered, June 30, in downtown Tampa to protest the Trump administration's policy of separating undocumented children from their parents. This protest was part of a day of action called under the slogan of ‘Families Belong Together.’ This day of action follows the discovery that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been keeping undocumented children in cages in detention centers and forcibly separated from their parents. The protest advocated for the abolition of ICE, the reunion of these families, and the end of deportations.

Protesters gave speeches opposing Trump's racist message of hate and xenophobia. Their chants included, “No fear, no hate, immigrants make America great” and “El pueblo unido jamas sera vencido.” “There's no such thing as an illegal human,” one of the event facilitators repeated throughout the event. The speakers included multiple undocumented mothers who told anecdotes of their own experiences; one talked about her son, who was deported and then killed right after he arrived back in Mexico.

Speakers emphasized that we have to continue building a movement against deportations by hosting more protests and becoming politically radical.

#TampaFL #InJusticeSystem #OppressedNationalities #ICE #PeoplesStruggles #ChicanoLatino #Antiracism #Immigration #Trump #DonaldTrump

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Legalization for All (L4A) network.

Across the country outrage grew at the Trump administration’s policy of forced removal of children from their families. Photos of toddlers sobbing while their parent is being arrested at the border. Reports of children being detained in cages and of tent cities in the desert that remind one of concentration camps. The sounds of children crying in detention centers, calling for their mothers. A policy that goes beyond racist to truly barbaric. A policy that no less than representatives of the United Nations and the American Pediatric Association label child abuse.

Many commentators have drawn parallels with the policies of Nazi Germany to separate families of Jews, Slavs, and others ultimately sent to their deaths. But we need to look no further than the history of national oppression inside the United States: where Native parents were slaughtered and their children sold as slaves while their lands were taken. African slave families broken up on the auction block. Japanese American families broken up in the concentration and prison camps during World War II. And now the latest and no less shocking policy of arresting immigrants from Central America and Mexico, many if not most seeking asylum and safe haven and taking away their children. In fact it is the Trump administration, not the immigrants, who are the actual criminals.

The Trump administration is trying to hold these children hostage to get an immigration bill that would fund the wall on the Mexican border, end the diversity visa that would severely cut immigration from Africa, and restrict legal immigration by cutting family reunification visas. This is a policy of ransom by kidnappers. A regime of criminals whose corruption, defense of white supremacists, and justification of sexual assault has no parallel in living memory.

Bowing to public pressure, the Trump administration issued an executive order calling for unlimited joint detention of families. This raises the prospect of concentration camps on the border and runs against the Flores court agreement that says that the U.S. government cannot detain children any longer than twenty days, and should release them as soon as possible. Trump’s order also does not speak to the more than 2,000 children already separated from their families. It has a number of loopholes that would allow for the continuing separation of children from their families.

Trump’s attorney general, Jeff Sessions, issued an order earlier that the administration would deny hearings and lead to immediate deportation of women and children fleeing from domestic, gang, and criminal violence. This is the same man who claimed that the Bible justified separating children from their parents. While it is not for us to judge, but we would certainly nominate him for a special place in hell (to use the Trump administration’s words).

Legalization for All (L4A) calls for immediate reunification of immigrant families, release of all children from detention, legalization of the DACA and DACA eligible youth, and the legalization of those with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforcement Departure (DED), many of whom have been in the United States for a decade or more. We want the restoration of asylum rights for those fleeing domestic violence and threats from gangs whose roots are actually in the United States. We oppose attempts to cut the U-visa for victims of domestic violence, to eliminate the diversity visa, and to restrict family unification visas for legal immigration.

The pillars of our network:

No to Trump's Wall! Legalization for All! Stop the Deportations/Abolish ICE! No guest worker Expansion!

Visit us on the web at: https://legalizationforall.wordpress.com/

#UnitedStates #PeoplesStruggles #Immigration #L4A #Legalization4All

¡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.

El imperialismo, existe y mata, escribió Eduardo Galeano escritor nuestro americano. Y humilla a la humanidad, agregamos nosotros.

Las atroces imágenes de niños y niñas en jaulas de “retención”, en territorio de los Estados Unidos de América, son la brutal expresión de un sistema supremacista que animaliza el resto de los seres humanos, a los que no son ellos, a los diferentes, a los que considera nadie.

Las elites racistas en su afán de negar la existencia de otros seres humanos, diferentes a sus parámetros físicos y culturales, siempre encuentran una “solución final.” Soluciones finales fueron los millones de seres humanos esclavizados y martirizados por el colonialismo en los territorios invadidos; los hornos de cremación en los capos de concentración nazi; los vuelos de la muerte en la dictadura de Videla en Argentina; los falsos positivos en Colombia y ahora las jaulas con niños y niñas en territorio estadounidense.

A fin de cuenta, pensarán ellos, como dijera una vez el genocida Augusto Pinochet para exculparse de sus crímenes, “No se puede violar los derechos humanos de quienes no son seres humanos.”

La separación de niños y niñas de sus padres, es una violación abierta a la Convención Internacional de los derechos de los niños, niñas y adolescentes. Encerrarlos en jaulas, es un crimen de lesa humanidad.

Este crimen no ocurrió esta semana que termina, tiene años sucediendo. Sólo que la imagen “filtrada”, ha sorprendido a la gente buena de este mundo, adoradores del “modo de vida americana” y ha dado pruebas a quienes luchamos por una auténtica humanidad, due que estamos enfrentando una amenaza racista que no podemos seguir subestimando.

La culta Europea y los Estados Unidos, autoproclamados garantes de los derechos humanos, después de provocar verdaderas “crisis humanitarias” sembrando de bandas terroristas a Africa y al Medio Oriente; y expoliando económicamente a los pueblos de México y Centro América, tienen en sus puertas a millones de seres humanos, clamando por los derechos que perdieron en sus países, caotizados por las intervenciones humanitarias.

La respuesta del capitalismo al caos que ha ocasionado, es volver a los campos de concentración de seres humanos o convertir el Mar Mediterráneo, la Franja de Gaza y la frontera mexicana, entre otros lugares del mundo, en la gran tumba de los pobres del Siglo XXI.

El imperialismo se muestra al desnudo como enemigo de la humanidad. ¿Quién sanciona a los imperialistas? Vaya doble rasero el de la llamada comunidad internacional. A eso nos enfrentamos los venezolanos y venezolanas todos los días.

Hoy es Carabobo, hace 197 años derrotamos militarmente al colonialismo supremacista en estas tierras benditas, con Bolívar al frente. Compatriotas, hoy nos toca librar la misma batalla. Bolívar sigue al frente y nos obliga, como siempre nos recuerda el General Pérez Arcay, Maestro de nuestro Comandante Chávez.

Ahora tenemos que hacerlo desde las ideas, desde la innovación, desde la producción, desde una ética auténticamente humana que nos diferencie de los enjauladores niños y niñas y que nos permita recuperar y expandir la estabilidad y la prosperidad que alcanzamos en la primera década de este siglo, bajo nuestro propio modelo socialista.

Tenemos que lograr que nuestra tierra y nuestra bandera cobije a todos los hijos e hijas de Venezuela. Que encuentran aquí las mejores condiciones para el desarrollo individual y colectivo. Por eso luchamos.

Hoy más que nunca resuenan las palabras de nuestro Comandante Chávez en las Naciones Unidas: “Huele azufre todavía.” Todavía el diablo del capitalismo anda suelto por este mundo y eso nos obliga a los y las militantes de la causa socialista, a unirnos y a redoblar nuestros esfuerzos para lograr, como cantaba Alí Primera, que sea humana la humanidad.

#Venezuela #InJusticeSystem #ICE #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #Antiracism #Immigration

Fight Back! is circulating an essay by Elías Jaua, the People's Power Minister for Education of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, on the current crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border caused by the Trump administration's ‘zero-tolerance’ policy towards migrating families. The article was posted in Spanish and translated to English by Fight Back! staff.

“Imperialism exists and kills,” wrote our American writer Eduardo Galeano. And to the shame of humanity, we add ourselves.

The atrocious images of children in detention centers, within the borders of the United States of America, are the brutal expression of a white supremacist system that dehumanizes all other human beings, anyone who is not them, who is different, who they consider to be nothing.

Racist elites, in their desire to negate the existence of human beings that do not fit their physical and cultural parameters, are always in search of a “final solution.” Final solutions were the millions of human beings enslaved and martyred by colonialism in the invaded territories; the cremation ovens of the Nazi concentration camps; the death flights of Videla in Argentina; the “false positives” in Colombia; and now the jails of children within U.S. territory.

In the end, the elite will think to themselves what the genocidal Augusto Pinochet said in excuse of his crimes: “You cannot violate the human rights of those who are not humans.”

The separation of children from their parents is an open violation of the International Convention of the Rights of the Child. To lock them in jails is a crime against humanity.

This crime did not begin a few weeks ago, but has been happening for years. Only the “filtered” image has surprised the good people of this world, those that adore the “American way of life” and who have questioned those that struggle for an authentic humanity, who today are confronting a racist menace that we can no longer underestimate.

Europe and the United States – the self-proclaimed guarantors of human rights, after provoking real humanitarian crises with terrorist bands in Africa and the Middle East, and economically pillaging the peoples of Mexico and Central America – have at their entry points millions of human beings, demanding the rights denied them in countries ruined by “humanitarian” interventions.

The response of capitalism to the ensuing chaos is to return to concentration camps and to convert the Mediterranean Sea, the Gaza Strip and the Mexican border – among other corners around the world – into the great tomb of the poor of the 21st century. Imperialism lays itself bare as the enemy of humanity. Who will sanction the imperialists? That is the double standard of the so-called international community. This is what confronts the Venezuelan people every day.

Today is the 197th anniversary of Carabobo, when white supremacist colonialism was militarily defeated in these blessed lands under the leadership of Bolívar. Compatriots, today calls us to fight the same battle. Bolívar continues on the front line and calls on us, as General Pérez Arcay, teacher of our comandante Chávez, always reminded us.

Now we must fight with the ideas, innovation, production, and truly human ethics that differentiate us from the jailers of children and that allows us to rebuild and expand the stability and prosperity that we achieved in the first decade of this century, guided by our own socialist model.

We must ensure that our land and our flag protects all of the children of Venezuela. They must find here the best conditions for individual and collective development. This is why we fight.

Today more than ever we must recall the words of our comandante Chávez at the United Nations: “It still smells of sulfur.” The capitalist devil is still loose across the world and this requires the militants of the socialist cause to unite together and redouble their efforts to ensure, in the words of Alí Primera, “that humanity will be human.”

#Venezuela #InJusticeSystem #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #Antiracism #Immigration #Antifascism #Internment #FamilySeparation

Fight Back! is circulating an essay by Elías Jaua, the People's Power Minister for Education of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, on the current crisis on the U.S.-Mexico border caused by the Trump administration's ‘zero-tolerance’ policy towards migrating families. The article was posted in Spanish and translated to English by Fight Back! staff.

“Imperialism exists and kills,” wrote our American writer Eduardo Galeano. And to the shame of humanity, we add ourselves.

The atrocious images of children in detention centers, within the borders of the United States of America, are the brutal expression of a white supremacist system that dehumanizes all other human beings, anyone who is not them, who is different, who they consider to be nothing.

Racist elites, in their desire to negate the existence of human beings that do not fit their physical and cultural parameters, are always in search of a “final solution.” Final solutions were the millions of human beings enslaved and martyred by colonialism in the invaded territories; the cremation ovens of the Nazi concentration camps; the death flights of Videla in Argentina; the “false positives” in Colombia; and now the jails of children within U.S. territory.

In the end, the elite will think to themselves what the genocidal Augusto Pinochet said in excuse of his crimes: “You cannot violate the human rights of those who are not humans.”

The separation of children from their parents is an open violation of the International Convention of the Rights of the Child. To lock them in jails is a crime against humanity.

This crime did not begin a few weeks ago, but has been happening for years. Only the “filtered” image has surprised the good people of this world, those that adore the “American way of life” and who have questioned those that struggle for an authentic humanity, who today are confronting a racist menace that we can no longer underestimate.

Europe and the United States – the self-proclaimed guarantors of human rights, after provoking real humanitarian crises with terrorist bands in Africa and the Middle East, and economically pillaging the peoples of Mexico and Central America – have at their entry points millions of human beings, demanding the rights denied them in countries ruined by “humanitarian” interventions.

The response of capitalism to the ensuing chaos is to return to concentration camps and to convert the Mediterranean Sea, the Gaza Strip and the Mexican border – among other corners around the world – into the great tomb of the poor of the 21st century. Imperialism lays itself bare as the enemy of humanity. Who will sanction the imperialists? That is the double standard of the so-called international community. This is what confronts the Venezuelan people every day.

Today is the 197th anniversary of Carabobo, when white supremacist colonialism was militarily defeated in these blessed lands under the leadership of Bolívar. Compatriots, today calls us to fight the same battle. Bolívar continues on the front line and calls on us, as General Pérez Arcay, teacher of our comandante Chávez, always reminded us.

Now we must fight with the ideas, innovation, production, and truly human ethics that differentiate us from the jailers of children and that allows us to rebuild and expand the stability and prosperity that we achieved in the first decade of this century, guided by our own socialist model.

We must ensure that our land and our flag protects all of the children of Venezuela. They must find here the best conditions for individual and collective development. This is why we fight.

Today more than ever we must recall the words of our comandante Chávez at the United Nations: “It still smells of sulfur.” The capitalist devil is still loose across the world and this requires the militants of the socialist cause to unite together and redouble their efforts to ensure, in the words of Alí Primera, “that humanity will be human.”

#Venezuela #InJusticeSystem #PeoplesStruggles #PoliceBrutality #Antiracism #Immigration #Antifascism #Internment #FamilySeparation

Minneapolis, MN – On Sunday, Jan.14, immigrant rights activists, including students with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status, held a protest and community outreach action on the corner of Lake Street and Bloomington Avenue, a busy intersection in the heart of the Minneapolis Latino immigrant community. They demanded that Congress pass a clean Dream Act before the Jan. 19 congressional budget deadline.A clean Dream Act means permanent protection for immigrant youth with DACA status who were brought here as children, without pairing that with repressive anti-immigrant measures like the border wall, ending family-based immigration and the diversity lottery or increased raids and deportations against other immigrants like President Trump is trying to do.At the busy intersection, the protesters held signs and chanted demanding a clean Dream Act. Some signs also supported Salvadorans, Haitians and others for whom Trump has ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS), exposing hundreds of thousands of families to the threat of deportation. Some of the group’s signs also made pointed reference to Trump’s recent racist statement calling El Salvador, Haiti, and African countries “shithole countries.” Many passing cars honked and signaled their agreement with the anti-Trump and pro-immigrant message.The action was organized by the Minnesota Immigrant Rights Action Committee (MIRAC) and the Interracial Student Movement (ISM), as part of a series of efforts to pressure Congress to act now to pass a clean Dream Act.After protesting outside in the bitter cold for a half hour, the group went inside a popular Latino immigrant marketplace. There, American Indian Movement (AIM) leader Clyde Bellecourt spoke to the group, expressing support for immigrant youth. Bellecourt put the struggle in the context of European colonization of the Americas and the struggle of the indigenous peoples of the Americas for unity and justice, and emphasizing the importance of young people in leading the struggle forward.Then, in a visual and participatory action, the group shared balloons with messages supporting immigrant youth written on them with people in the marketplace. The organizers called on everybody to pop their balloons at the same time to symbolize that President Trump and Congress are trying to destroy young people’s dreams. Three organizers from the group spoke to the gathered crowd, sharing information with people about the struggle of DACA youth and the need for the community to get involved in the fight for a clean Dream Act.In September 2017, President Trump abruptly announced the end of DACA. A federal court ruling has temporarily forced the administration to keep DACA alive while court cases about it are still being heard. But this is a temporary situation, not a real solution. The need for action for immigrant youth is as urgent as ever. As soon as the court cases end, every day around 122 more immigrant youth will lose their legal status and face the threat of being deported and uprooted from the only life they have ever known. Having put 800,000 immigrant youth in jeopardy of deportation by ending DACA, President Trump and anti-immigrant Republicans in Congress are now cynically using these young immigrants as bargaining chips for their anti-immigrant agenda.Democrats in Congress have given lip service in support of immigrant youth, yet enough of them voted before the new year in support of the continuing resolution to fund the congressional budget for it to pass, temporarily keeping the government open until the fast-approaching Jan. 19 deadline. With that deadline upon us, another congressional vote on the budget is here, and the Republicans can’t pass it without some Democrats’ votes. So immigrant rights activists around the country are demanding that congressional Democrats turn their lip service into action and all vote no on passing any congressional budget unless a clean Dream Act is passed, even if that means a government shutdown. That is one of the strongest kinds of leverage they have to force a clean Dream Act through despite the opposition of anti-immigrant Republicans in Congress and the administration.

#MinneapolisMN #MIRAc #Immigration #DACA

Minneapolis, MN – 70 pro-immigrant activists and community members gathered May 28 at The Bachelor Farmer restaurant in downtown Minneapolis, demanding drivers licenses for immigrants. The Bachelor Farmer is owned by Eric and Andrew Dayton, sons of current Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton.

The action began when six activists dressed as waiters entered the restaurant delivering menus that described facts about undocumented immigrants and a call for Governor Dayton to veto Minnesota bill HF 470, a public safety bill that includes anti-immigrant language to deny drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants.

At the same time, outside the restaurant, over 60 people picketed on the sidewalk. Chants included “Immigrants at the table, not on the menu,” and “Drivers licenses now!”

The action was put on by a coalition of immigrant rights groups and numerous community members who had taken part in organizing the Permanent Assembly of Governor Dayton's Office from May 23-26.

A statement regarding a meeting with Governor Dayton was released by the coalition of pro-immigrant organizations May 28 on Navigate Minnesota's Facebook page, stating, “We want to openly disclose that we finally got a meeting with Governor Dayton only a few hours before the expiration date for HF 470 on Tuesday night,” referring to a deadline by which the governor said he will take action on budget bills.

#MinneapolisMN #US #PeoplesStruggles #Antiracism #Immigration

St. Paul, MN – On the evening of May 23, dozens of members of Minnesota immigrant rights groups occupied Governor Mark Dayton’s office in the State Capitol indefinitely to demand that he veto SF 470 – the Public Safety Budget Bill – which was passed by the Republican House and Senate the previous day. The protesters are planning to stay all night or as long as it takes to get the governor to veto the bill.

If Dayton signs the bill, as he initially stated he would, it would strengthen the unjust ban on undocumented immigrants’ obtaining drivers licenses. Currently, immigrants cannot get drivers licenses in Minnesota, but that is only due to an administrative rule put in place by a prior governor. The new bill would put that administrative rule into law, making it harder to change.

The occupation was called to put pressure on Dayton. The special legislative session is set to end Wednesday, May 24.

Protesters chanted “Governor Dayton, meet with us! Don’t throw immigrants under the bus!” and were impossible to ignore in the capitol.

#StPaulMN #PeoplesStruggles #Immigration

(Fight Back! News/Staff)”)

Houston, TX – Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 4, a racist anti-immigrant law, amidst massive opposition, on May 7. The law gives law enforcement the ability to ask any person who “looks undocumented” for their identification papers when detained. Specifically, the law is designed to attack sanctuary cities, and is therefore tied to Trump's attacks on immigrants. It is very similar to SB1070, which passed in Arizona in 2010. The law will legalize racial profiling and create an environment of terror in the Chicano/Mexicano communities.

Three cities in Texas and two counties have decided to sue the state over SB4, as has the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). The police chief of the Houston Police Department, Art Acevedo, spoke out against the law. He made public statements that he would not support a law that would turn Houston police officers into ICE agents. Unfortunately, Mayor Sylvester Turner specifically spoke out against the city taking any legal action at a state level against this new anti-immigrant legislation.

About 50 activists yesterday gathered May 21 in front of the Houston Police Department headquarters to demand that HPD not enforce the law. Even though Acevedo stated he would use his powers as police chief to make sure it isn't enforced, the protest made demands on the whole police department, which has a dirty history of killing Black and brown people. They chanted, “No SB4, no Trump no Pence, no fascist USA!” and “Hey, hey, ho, ho, SB4 has got to go!” Afterwards, they marched to City Hall and were met by a large group of protesters from Black Lives Matter, who were holding a rally.

David Smith, with Houston Socialist Movement said, “The enactment of Senate Bill 4 presents a significant danger to undocumented immigrants, to people of Mexican descent in general, and to other people of color. This new ‘Show Me Your Papers Law’ will lead to more unjustified deportations, more separation of families, more racial profiling, more violations of supposed constitutional rights, more unreported crimes, and more pain and misery for many people.”

Smith continued, “The Houston Police Department already has a long, ugly history of murdering and abusing people. Now HPD Chief Art Acevedo says he will make sure his officers enforce SB 4 even though he opposed its passage. To this, we can only say: Hell no. SB 4 is a racist, anti-worker law, and it should not be enforced. HPD should not serve as immigration agents. No more deportations. Stop breaking up families. End racial profiling! Stop police murders and brutality.”

Patrick Donovan with Students for a Democratic Society said, “The word I want to emphasize is 'escalate.' Escalate struggle on campuses to pressure our administrations, escalate struggle in our workplaces and on the streets to obstruct this law at every turn – escalate, escalate, escalate.”

The protest was organized by Brown Berets de TejAztlan, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, Houston Socialist Movement, Latinos Inmigrantes Triunfadores, MORENA-Houston SW, and Party for Socialism and Liberation.

#HoustonTX #ImmigrantRights #PeoplesStruggles #RacismInTheCriminalJusticeSystem #Antiracism #Immigration

The protest was part of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) National Day of Action on Feb. 15 and is demanding greater protections for Muslim and undocumented students at the U of U. The students are responding to the threat that the Trump presidency poses to these vulnerable groups.

Students are demanding university administrators refuse to work with ICE operations on campus, hire a designated immigration lawyer, withhold student information requested by federal authorities, and make a public declaration that the university is a sanctuary campus. The ultimatum promises that if the university does not act by March 8 “immediate action” will be taken. It is not known what the “immediate action” will be.

This is the second protest rally for a sanctuary campus by students at the U. of U. SDS also presented a petition that 600 students signed. SDS is still waiting for campus administrators to respond directly.

Administrators and campus institutions did send emails to students following some of Trump’s executive orders. These emails express support for undocumented students, but do not respond to the demands of SDS, in particular making University of Utah a sanctuary campus.

“We are here today to demand a sanctuary campus from University of Utah administration. We are demanding this because we understand that we need to start taking action here at home to fight against Trump,” said Theresa Nielson at the rally.

Union Building staff and student government members interrupted Nielson’s speech by tugging on her arm, and then attempted to interrupt the speeches of SDS members Lucia Miramontes and Ian Decker. University staffers wanted the protest shut down, claiming a reservation had not been made and was disrupting a conference upstairs.

Trampling the students’ free speech, staffers threatened to contact the police. After students ended the rally and marched away, police were present at the office of the president of the university and watched while students chanted and posted the ultimatum to the doors.

SDS members at the University of Utah continue to gather support for the sanctuary campus by reaching out to professors and students to voice their support for Muslims and undocumented immigrants.

#SaltLakeCityUT #SaltLakeCItyUT #StudentMovement #PeoplesStruggles #students #Immigration #Trump