Tampa, FL- About 30 people protested outside of the Democratic Party campaign office on June 13. They were there to say no to President Obama's massive deportations of undocumented people and to demand the passage of the Dream Act. The protesters consisted mostly of undocumented youth and allies from around the Tampa area. In almost 100 degree Florida weather, the protesters rallied for two hours waiting to hear from someone inside. While they rallied, many speakers came forward to talk about a range of issues affecting undocumented people throughout the U.S.

Groups there included United We Dream, Students Working for Equal Rights (SWER), Student/Farmworker Alliance and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). They were all there together to fight for legalization and the right for people to an education. The Dream Act, as many people talked about, provides partial legalization for young undocumented people who have graduated high school and want to enroll in higher education. All of the Dreamers in Tampa spoke of how they wanted to further their education without fear of deportation. They talked about living in constant fear and oppression at the hands of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and the police.

The crowd marched in circles in front of the office chanting, “Hey Obama! Don't deport my Mama!” “Money for jobs and education, not for racist deportation!” and “El pueblo vive, la lucha sigue!” Meanwhile speakers from different groups came up to talk about their demands. Marisol Marquez of SWER spoke, “Though we may disagree with some things of the Dream Act, like requiring black and brown people to fight overseas in wars of oppression, this still is a pathway to citizenship. We say stop the deportations and let young people have the right to an education!” Speakers continued to come up while the group marched and chanted in front of the office. As the protest came to a close, the group posted a letter to the door of the office with a list of demands.

This protest was part of a nationwide day of action in support of the people's rights to citizenship, employment and education. Across the U.S. groups came together to tell President Obama to stop the deportations and to demand a better future for undocumented people. Under the Obama administration the U.S. has seen more than a million deportations. Many of the Dream Act supporters tell the stories of families broken apart by ICE and the constant deportations. On top of this, the past four years has seen an increase in ICE's budget. This has led to the record number of arrests and deportations over the past few years.

The Dream Act (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors), first introduced in 2001, provides a pathway to legalized citizenship for young undocumented people. However, Democrats and Republicans have both refused to pass the act during the Bush and Obama administrations. Since 2001 undocumented youth have taken to the streets with increased militancy demanding the right to be in the U.S. These brave people risk it all to fight for a better future.

On June 14, the years and dedication to the fight came to the fore. President Obama announced that he would be enacting a Dream Act-like measure that essentially would have the same benefits of the Dream Act. Over the years, the Dreamers endured a life of struggle, dedication and risk of deportation. Without the dedication to the fight, this victory would not have been won. Though this is a small victory for undocumented people and a blow the institutional racism aimed against Black and brown people in the U.S., it still proves that through action and struggle, people can win.

The Dreamers will not stop now. Though most of their demands have been met, they will not stop until the deportations stop. It is not just about demanding a pathway to citizenship or a right to education. The Dreamers, like everyone else, demand that the racist discrimination instituted by the U.S. government stop. Whether it's the deportation of undocumented youth, Trayvon Martin and the police murders of other African-American youth, the Islamophobia and racial profiling of Muslim people, or the systematic arrests and lockups of all people of color – the fight is the same. Only through continuous action will they be resolved, and the Dreamers vow to continue. The struggle moves forward.

#TampaFL #PeoplesStruggles #immigrantRights #undocumentedWorkers #DREAMAct #DreamDefenders

Specifically, Bush’s plan states that undocumented workers who come forward can stay for two three-year periods. The logical question is, “What then?” All that the Bush plan holds out is that folks can then go through the ‘normal’ immigration process. Because of the very strict immigration quotas, this amounts to a dead end for the millions of undocumented working here. Another part of the administration immigration proposal says that undocumented workers will need their employer to ‘sponsor’ them. The effect of this will be chaining undocumented workers to their jobs, making it hard for the undocumented to leave rotten jobs and giving the employers incredible power over the immigrant labor.

The Bush proposal reflects the fact that the corporate owners depend on immigrants. As things stand, a substantial section of the working class in this country, particularly those who work in the most difficult sections of service, agriculture and manufacturing, are immigrants, millions of whom do not have legal status.

When big business dreams of their ideal immigration policy, they see well-regulated labor markets, where there is an ample supply of workers, eager to take any job when the economy is booming. They also see workers who can be sent home in times of economic crisis or recession – avoiding the need to pay for programs like unemployment insurance for those who are out of work

Behind immigration, stands an ugly truth: U.S. corporations have used the political and economic power they wield to wreck the economies of many third world countries. As a result, people leave behind their homes and families in search of a better standard of living.

No discussion of immigration to the U.S. can ignore the issue of Mexico, where most undocumented workers come from.

From the theft of northern Mexico right up to NAFTA, the Mexican people have suffered the oppression and exploitation at the hands of the colossus of the North. The wealth concentrated in Wall Street is mirrored by the spread of poverty in urban and rural Mexico. This reality underscores the stupidity and chauvinism that is inherent in the ruling class’s discussions of immigration.

Right-wing commentators and self-serving politicians spew gallons of venom about ‘illegals’ crossing the southern border – as if they were the rightful owners of the Southwest portion of the U.S. Ignored is the fact the area was stolen from Mexico, and the Spanish speaking majority left on this side of the border were forced to endure more than a century and a half of oppression. In that process, a new nationality, Chicanos, came into being. As such, Chicanos have the same rights as any other nationality -including the right of self-determination.

To hear some reactionary politicians, who seem to have a sense of entitlement as big as a house, talking about the southern border (and the Southwest as whole) as if it were their personal property would be laughable, if the entire matter weren’t so deadly serious. Each year, hundreds of men, women and children fleeing poverty – poverty created by the U.S. elites – lose their lives attempting to cross the border. This is a life and death question.

The only just solution to the legal problems faced by undocumented workers is immediate and unconditional amnesty. Immigrants do not need ‘guest worker’ programs or political grandstanding that is aimed at widening the political base of the Republican Party. The undocumented need documents – documents that allow them to stay, work and exercise their rights.

It’s vital that every possible contribution is made to strengthen the movement that insists upon amnesty for the undocumented. At the same time, we need to insist on the defense of democratic rights such as drivers licenses and equal access to social services. By taking this course, a blow is struck at the system of racism, inequality and injustice that is visited upon the oppressed nationalities within the borders of the U.S. – and at the same time we unite all who can be united against the rich who rule this country.

#UnitedStates #Editorial #ChicanoLatino #Bush #immigrantRights #undocumentedWorkers #guestWorker

Shuler visited University of North Carolina at Asheville (UNC-Asheville) to hold a town hall meeting, but he was met with protest as members of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and Hispanic Outreach for Learning Awareness (HOLA) interrupted his talk to demand a stop to repression against immigrants and an immediate end to the U.S. war and occupation of Iraq.

Shuler took office in the 2006 congressional elections. The elections resulted in the Democratic Party taking the majority in Congress. The November 2006 election was understood to be a referendum on the war and the backward Republican agenda. People voted this way because they are sick of the war spearheaded by Bush and the Republicans, which is bringing so much misery to the people of Iraq and working people in the United States.

Many people in western North Carolina had high hopes for Shuler, but since his election he has done nothing to bring the troops home from Iraq. In fact, he has refused to vote against cutting funding for Bush’s war, which has been the main demand from the anti-war movement on congress since the election.

In addition he has introduced a bill that would persecute undocumented workers: the ‘SAVE act.’ This act would further militarize the borders by obtaining idle equipment from the Department of Defense including, Humvees, armaments and surveillance equipment. The SAVE act would also require employers to investigate the immigration status of employees through the E-Verify mechanism. Everybody knows that this would further enable greedy bosses to squeeze their employees through the threat of blackmail.

Rep. Heath Shuler has failed to oppose the illegal occupation of Iraq. He has now actively taken it upon himself to make life harder for immigrants. The people of western North Carolina elected Heath Shuler expecting at least some relief, but instead got inaction on the war and attacks on immigrants. And that’s why UNCA Students for a Democratic Society and the Hispanic Outreach for Learning Awareness organized a demonstration at Shuler’s town hall meeting at UNCA.

Members of UNCA SDS sat in the audience through Shuler’s talk. Shuler talked a lot about the day-to-day life of a congressperson and how committees work. Later he began to speak about Iraq and how he wouldn’t vote to stop funding the war because he didn’t want to abandon the troops. No one in the audience was buying this A woman’s voice could be heard from the back of the room saying, “It’s a war crime!” And it was clear that most in the room agreed with her statement. During the following question and answer period, where softball questions were selected by Shuler’s aides, HOLA entered the room carrying signs denouncing Shuler’s SAVE act, and the members of UNCA SDS in the audience stood up and revealed the t-shirts they had been wearing that said, “No war on immigrants. No war on Iraq.”

The crowd was surprised at first, but then the protesters began getting thumbs up from the remaining audience. When the demonstration spilled out into the lobby, HOLA and SDS were joined by a great many community members who were also fed up with Shuler’s behavior.

#AshevilleNC #AntiwarMovement #ImmigrantRights #News #Iraq #StudentsForADemocraticSocietySDS #referendumOnTheWar #bringTheTroopsHome #undocumentedWorkers