The following statement was issued by the Frank Lara for Congress campaign to coincide with the April 4-5 National Days of Action to demand: “Not one more deportation!” Frank Lara, the Party for Socialism and Liberation and Peace and Freedom Party candidate for the 12th Congressional District of California, was proud to be arrested participating in an associated civil disobedience action. The 12th District seat is currently held by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
The Frank Lara for Congress campaign echoes the just demands of the immigrant rights movement: “Immediate End to All Deportations! Return and Reconnect Families! Full Rights and Legalization for All!”
On the other hand, the Democrats have held the immigrant rights movement hostage by continuously promising, but failing to deliver, reform. Those who have struggled for so many years to receive justice now see that the Democrats are not willing to fight for real and just reform. President Obama, now known as the “Deporter-in-Chief,” has deported more than 2 million immigrants. All the while, the main Democratic spokesperson, Nancy Pelosi, hypocritically defends the President while claiming to support reform.
Much of the rhetoric around the current push for reform, on both sides of the congressional debate, accepts the premise that undocumented immigrants are criminals. Neither questions the truly criminal acts of the U.S. government’s economic and military policies driving migration. From civil wars in Central America to the notorious North American Free Trade Agreement, the U.S. government and corporations have made life unbearable for poor and working people, leading millions to leave their homes. To bring about justice and dignity for those who have suffered for so long, the Frank Lara for Congress campaign proposes the following:
• Immediate legalization and access to citizenship will be granted to all immigrants.
• Full and equal rights—including political rights, social benefits, due process, travel and the right to organize—will be recognized for all people in the United States regardless of citizenship status.
• Visas will be granted to ensure family unification and workers’ rights, including full immigration benefits for same-sex partners.
• Immigrants deported or forced to leave the United States prior to the enactment of these reforms will be eligible for legalization and family reunification at the U.S. government’s expense.
• The U.S.-Mexico border will be immediately demilitarized, as it was prior to 1924, and immigrant detention will be abolished.
