On Feb. 21, nearly 200 undocumented workers were arrested in a series of raids in 17 states and the District of Colombia. The raids targeted the Florida-based janitorial company Rosenbaum-Cunningham International. RCI has contracts with restaurants like the Hard Rock Café and Planet Hollywood, where many of the raids took place.
In California, the racist raids tore apart hundreds of families. Many of the raids took place in Arcadia, West Hollywood,
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Agents from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement division of the Department of Homeland Security claimed the mass raids were carried out because they suspected RCI of “building a business around ‘a ghost workforce that was paid in cash.’” (Los Angeles Times, Feb. 23)
Homeland Security officials claimed that the raids are important to “crack down” on identity theft. This is untrue.
The U.S. government knows that millions of undocumented workers labor in the country under these circumstances. It is mostly tolerated and even tacitly encouraged. The exploitation of cheap labor helps lower wages for all workers.
The racist raids are attempts to increase the insecurity of the labor force to keep wages as low as possible.
Immigration officials have filed criminal charges against three executives of RCI, but the potential penalties pale in comparison to the treatment of the undocumented workers targeted—detention without rights and deportation.
Julie Myers—assistant secretary of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement—warned that RCI was not an isolated case. There will be future “crackdowns” on undocumented workers.
“We stand ready to work with honest companies—companies like Grand Traverse Resort and Spa—who want to work with us and change their business practices and do the right thing,” Myers told the LA Times.
Government repression
Over the past year, the U.S. government has stepped up attacks against undocumented workers with mass arrests and deportations.
On Dec. 12, 2006, 1,297 immigrant workers were arrested in a series of raids targeting meatpacking plants owned by Swift & Co. The raids took place in Colorado, Nebraska, Texas, Utah, Iowa and Minnesota. It was the largest immigration sweep ever targeting a single company. The vast majority of those arrested were Latino workers from Mexico or Central America.
One month later, on Jan. 17, 2007, nearly 800 more undocumented immigrants were arrested and deported.
Both sets of raids were part of Homeland Security’s “Operation Return to Sender,” a repressive attack on the immigrant community that has resulted in 13,000 arrests nationwide since June 2006.
The raids are one tactic of capitalist state repression facing immigrants.
Human rights groups have recently released a report on the horrendous prison-like conditions of immigrant detention centers that continue to hold entire immigrant families.
The Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services report that women receive inadequate prenatal care and children are continuing to receive poor medical care and just one hour of education per day.
Despite the stepped-up crackdown and detention of vulnerable workers, no significant portion of the U.S. ruling class wants to end immigration. The capitalists need a consistent influx of cheap labor to keep the unstable economy running.
U.S. capitalists need manufacturing and service sector businesses to remain healthy and profitable—just like it needs immigrant labor. If the flow of undocumented workers is cut off, businesses will have to pay citizens and residents higher wages to work.
Whether the U.S. government continues to impose racist raids or detain entire families in modern-day concentration camps—the message is clear: It wants to keep the immigrant population in check. It wants to scare immigrants into submission so they will not struggle for even the most basic workers’ rights.
As socialist revolutionaries, we reject government repression and racism. Fighting against these features of capitalism and for equality are key tasks for the U.S. working class.
