EPCC NEWS

January 6, 2010

Renewed Anti-Immigrant Drive Continues

Los Angeles---The Echo Park Community Coalition (EPCC) based in Los Angeles today reported that despite the filing of a new immigrant reform bill renewed, anti immigrant drive continues

This in light of the renewed anti-immigrant bias following the botched attempt to blow-up a jetliner by a Nigerian immigrant during the Christmas season.

And also this is because the immigration bill itself has serious flaws in that it accepts the logic of tightening “border security” and thus does not challenge the category of the “illegal” immigrant. This motions to pass immigration reform has given space to local and state law enforcement agencies to increase their repressive activities.

This is the same condition when the federal government twiddled its thumbs during the Civil Rights Movement, local police departments in the South led the forces of reaction and bigotry against the Black freedom struggle.

More Immigrants in Prison

Already there are 369,000 people imprisoned in camps and special jails set up for immigration violators under the previous administration.

There are an anticipated 440,000 people who will be arrested under the Obama administration this year alone. This is the result of continued raids and immigration sweeps into oppressed communities.

Given estimates of an undocumented population ranging from 12 to 20 million, we are talking anywhere from 2 to 4 percent undocumented workers and family members incarcerated or deported in a given year. Three years of these policies and one-tenth of the undocumented population could be gone.

At a increased rate, this massive criminalization and incarceration of undocumented immigrants shows no sign of slowing down. This oppression of the undocumented is compounded by the current economic crisis, with many choosing to leave under the current harsh economic and political conditions. It is what right-wing ideologue Mark Krekorian has labeled “attrition through enforcement.”

EPCC Stands for Full Rights for All immigrants

For the EPCC, it is bad to see that the immigrants rights movement would like to see tougher, almost draconian, border enforcement measures and more employment verification traded for a higher allowance in visas and immigration quotas; the possible future super-exploitation of workers through a guest worker program traded for the imminent legalization and acceptance into society of possibly 12-20 millions undocumented workers.

For the EPCC ,the only force that can break this status quo is the intervention of a massive people’s movement that seeks to make the workers and oppressed the ones who decide how society is organized. This can be done—it has been done before.

Failure to secure passage of a bill that recognizes the human rights of the undocumented and provides a path to citizenship would not only be a blow to immigrants but to the working class as a whole.

The Obama administration has stated that it will not act on the bill until health care legislation is passed, but there is a good chance it is also waiting for a more conservative compromise proposal to emerge from the Senate subcommittee on immigration. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is also supposed to introduce an administration bill next year.

The EPCC stands that the only hope lies in organizing for change, in the streets, in the hearts and minds of the people, in the space from which the ruling class never expects change to come—from below.

It will not come from Obama or any ruling class from above!

FULL RIGHTS FOR ALL IMMIGRANTS!

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