People’s CORE-CDIR: ALL-OUT For the May 1 Great American Boycott! Dare to Struggle, Dare to Win!

The Coalition in Defense of Immigrant Rights (CDIR) – People’s Community Organization for Reform and Empowerment (People’s CORE) calls on all immigrants and advocates to go all-out on Monday, May 1, 2006 International Workers Day for the Great American Boycott!

DARE TO STRUGGLE! The politicians and their corporate backers would like to see this new mass movement end because they know it could be the spark that ignites a revived nationwide anti-racist labor movement. They have ordered a crackdown on the immigrants by arresting them, harassing their leaders and trying to divide the movement.

Why do we have to boycott, not go to work, schools, buy or sell? We are all victims of the racist and oppressive HR 4437. This law will criminalize all immigrants and declare as felons all immigrant advocates and their supporters. Until now, the discriminative immigration reform overhaul bill in the US Senate has not been approved and placed a lot of barriers to earned legalization.

The Republicans were right in saying that this is not an amnesty bill. It is akin to the Nazi selection system in the concentration camps separating the immigrants from their families, immigrants that have been for 10 years and those who are less than 5 years and treating them as “guest workers.” They are re-instituting the slavish and feudal indentured servitude while professing that capitalism has no borders and we are in the age of globalization.

For the Filipino community, we have more than 1. 5 million immigrants and 800,000 of our fellow Filipinos are TNT’s. We call for the implementation of the Family Reunification Law of 1965 and let our families be reunited. Let not our families be divided by the ocean and the racist and discriminative laws like the HR 4437 against the all immigrants. We say no to racism and all anti-immigrant bias!

We should not fall into the trap of not supporting the call for legalization because it will not only benefit the Mexicans or Latinos, because it is for all of us. We should not fall into the trap of the racist slurs and think that we are better than the Mexicans. We should remember – an injury to one is an injury to all. In Tagalog, Ang sakit ng kalingkingan ay sakit ng buong katawan!

The CDIR-People’s CORE and the ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) Coalition are supporting the call for the great American boycott and all mass actions for the May 1 National Boycott. The boycott – which means no work, no school, no shopping, buying, or business as usual – will show the country that the immigration debate is not a choice between bad and worse.

We should all raise our voice, and the people say, "Full Rights for Immigrants! Amnesty for Undocumented Workers!" No human being is illegal – full equality is not only a reasonable and achievable demand, it is also a fundamental right.

Dare to struggle against the Bush administration's criminal war drive, and its assault on civil rights and civil liberties. Dare to link the fight against war and militarism with the struggle against racism and for social justice. WE WILL WIN!!

Join the Boycott March/ Rally at Olympic at Broadway on May 1 at 12;00 PM to City Hall.

“Full rights for Immigrants! Amnesty for all TNT’s and Undocumented Workers! Legalization Now!”

For more information on immigrant rights and immigrant reforms please contact Al P. Garcia and Jack Vergara @ (213)241-0906