Around 700 protesters calling for comprehensive immigration reform marched down Los Angeles’s Broadway Street on Oct. 10. Organized by the Full Rights for Immigrants Coalition, the march demanded legalization and full and equal rights for all undocumented immigrants. The march also called for support for the Employee Free Choice Act and the participation of immigrants in the upcoming census.
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The Party for Socialism and Liberation participated as part of the ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) and provided support for our allies in the immigrant rights movement. Key organizers included labor groups such as the United Teachers Los Angeles and the Laborers International Union of North America, as well as community advocacy groups Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, Latino Movement USA and others.
Preston Wood, Los Angeles coordinator of the ANSWER Coalition, spoke at the rally and exhorted all workers to build multinational unity. He called on native-born workers in this country to reach out in working-class solidarity to undocumented workers who are oppressed by the same ruling class. PSL speaker Marcial Guerra noted how we must organize in all communities to address the oppression in all communities by the capitalist system.
Immigrant rights leader Juan Jose Gutierrez, director of Latino Movement USA, sent a strong message. He urged immigrant communities to stay in the streets to advocate for their rights. Gutierrez also called on everyone to participate in the upcoming census. These final comments were addressed at certain elements of the movement who want to boycott the census in response to the lack of progress on immigration reform.
The Full Rights for Immigrants Coalition is correct. Boycotting the census would be a step backward for historically underrepresented groups such as Latinos and the undocumented who deserve to come out of the shadows and be counted as part of civil society. Undocumented people must have their voices heard.
Overall, the march was a success for organizing in the current period of heightened anti-immigrant repression. The Obama administration has continued many of the policies of the Bush administration by deporting undocumented workers. The Obama regime has focused on border enforcement, while continuing with raids and even adding more repression with the electronic employment verification schemes that threaten many undocumented workers with unemployment or reprisals. None of Obama’s election promises about immigration reform have been honored.
The L.A. march underscored the reality that the only way to make change is action in the street and organizing in working-class communities. The PSL will continue to stand with our allies and comrades in the immigrant rights movement until just and humane immigration reform is won.
