Over the past two weeks, the U.S. government has stepped-up attacks against undocumented workers with mass arrests and deportations.
In Southern California, racist immigration raids have torn apart thousands of families. More than 1,300 undocumented
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According to immigration officials, the raids were conducted to target “criminals.” About 1,100 of those arrested were from Mexico. An additional 170 were from Central America and the rest from Asia. A significant portion of those who were arrested were already in jails.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca called the partnership between ICE and jail personnel “very successful.” Both repressive forces have committed to continue deporting “unlawful” immigrants.
“Where these laws may not have been enforced in the past, that has changed,” said Jim Hayes, Los Angeles field office director for ICE. (Los Angeles Times, Oct. 3)
The U.S. government has arrested more than 61,000 undocumented workers in recent months. Local police departments working with immigration officials have heightened the number of racist raids in Southern California and throughout the country.
“It directs public attention away from the real need to reform the immigration system overall,” said Reshma Shamasunder, director of the California Immigration Policy Center. “This is not going to solve our problems. … This is just one narrow-minded, mean-spirited way of trying to fix the immigration problem.”
Massive raids also recently targeted immigrants in Nassau County, New York.
Local police and immigration officials raided homes in Nassau with high-powered shotguns and automatic weapons where children were present. People also witnessed that some immigration cops were wearing cowboy hats. The racist raids are now being “investigated.”
The Nassau raids led to nearly 200 arrests. Some of those arrested were U.S. citizens and were detained for hours. Their “crime” clearly was being Latino in the United States.
Peter J. Smith, the special ICE agent in charge of the raids denied the charges.
“You’re arresting individuals who are in association, they’re in the area, they’re in houses that are known for illegal aliens. Gang members were going to be there.” (New York Times, Oct. 3)
The U.S. government’s attacks against the immigrant community are part of an overall strategy to intimidate workers. The raids are one component of the repressive state machinery used against undocumented workers and their families in the United States. They are also an attempt to increase the insecurity of the labor force to keep wages as low as possible.
The Social Security Administration is also pushing to send “no match” letters to hundreds of thousands of people. The letters are sent to people whose stated Social Security numbers do not match their names on government files. This can happen for a variety of reasons; most inaccuracies are due to clerical errors. The government’s own internal reports suggest that hundreds of thousands of “no match” letters will be incorrect, affecting undocumented workers, permanent residents and citizens alike.
But the target is clear: undocumented workers are in the Department of Homeland Security’s sights.
With all of its myriad tactics, the government’s 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 basic workers’ and civil rights.
As revolutionaries, we denounce these racist raids and demand full legalization for all undocumented workers and their families. Fighting against these features of capitalism and for equality are key tasks for the U.S. working class.
