On May Day, activists in Pittsburgh kicked off a campaign to turn Pittsburgh into an official sanctuary city. Spearheading this campaign was the ANSWER Coalition and F.U.R.I.A. (Fuerza Unida en Resistencia de Inmigrantes en Acción), a grassroots organization formed by Guatemalan and Mexican immigrant women united by the struggle for the fight of immigrants’ rights in Pittsburgh.
Many other organizations also joined, aided, and endorsed this action – including Veterans for Peace, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, Jewish Voice for Peace, Women Organized to Resist and Defend, Pittsburgh Anti-Imperialist League, Alliance for Police Accountability, Pittsburgh Student Solidarity Coalition, Marxism-Leninism Today and the New Afrikan Independence Party.
Speaking at the start of the rally, Taylor Goel, Pittsburgh coordinator of the ANSWER Coalition said:
“We came come together in solidarity in the true spirit of May Day, to stand up and fight back against all forms of injustice and oppression against the workers all round the world. What we have right here today is the most beautiful display of genuine unity and solidarity between all oppressed sectors of our society. Black people, Latino People, Jewish and Muslim people, LGBTQ people, veterans, students, we are all here today!”
Goel continued with the announcement of the campaign to make Pittsburgh a sanctuary city, raising the following demands with the mayor, county executive and city and county councils:
– All city services, including but not limited to medical and social services shall be made available to all residents, regardless of immigration status.
– A city ID which is accepted by all Pittsburgh city agencies shall be implemented.
– No Pittsburgh city or county agencies shall inquire about or otherwise investigate or assist in the investigation of the immigration status of any person.
– No Pittsburgh city or county agencies shall disclose information regarding the immigration status of any person.
– No Pittsburgh city or county agencies shall arrest, detain or continue to detain a person solely on the belief that the person is not present legally in the United States, or that the person has committed a civil immigration violation.
– No Pittsburgh city or county agencies shall permit ICE agents’ access to a person being detained by, or in the custody of, the agency.
– No Pittsburgh city or county agencies shall permit ICE agents use of agency facilities for investigative interviews or other investigative purpose; or while on duty, expend their time responding to ICE inquiries or communicating with ICE regarding a person’s custody status or release date.
– All ICE vehicles shall be marked with appropriate Homeland Security identification.
Speakers in both English and Spanish spoke to the importance of the immigrants to U.S. society, as well as horror stories committed by ICE. A march through the city and a gathering in Market Square effectively ended the Pittsburgh May Day action, but the campaign continues. Additional groups are expected to join in on this initiative to pass council legislation to effectively turn Pittsburgh into a sanctuary city.
Overall May Day actions across the United States had an emphasis on some of the most vulnerable members of the labor community, immigrants, whether a visa-issued employee pressured with the threat of deportation if they lose their job, or undocumented workers who can face even greater threats. These situations only add to the cocktail of abuse employee can undergo at work.
Trump’s signed executive order, “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States” effectively makes Obama’s “Priority Enforcement Program” far broader regarding who can be deported. This is not to pardon Obama’s record breaking deportation numbers which earned him the moniker “Deporter in Chief” by the immigrant community or former president Bill Clinton with his operation GateKeeper. Clinton effectively closed the borders, making it harder and more dangerous to cross, ending “circular migration” with this operation.
Overall the number of people deported from the United States has grown steadily since the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. This act, according to the American Immigration Council, “encouraged the initiation of deportation proceedings against any immigrant convicted of a deportable offense. Since that time, a stream of punitive legislation has eaten away at the traditional discretion of judges to grant relief from deportation in particular cases.” The situation continues to grow worse and action is needed if lives are to be protected.
So in an attempt to fight back against this ongoing trend, the Sanctuary City movement attempts to create firewalls between the local city and the federal ICE officials. City services, databases, and the like become off limits unless a judge signed warrant is presented. This effectively helps
to curtail the abuses and “easy target” harassing and terrorizing of immigrant families and workers by ICE. Pittsburgh’s sister city of Philadelphia passed executive order 8-09 which effectively turned it into a sanctuary city.
The immigration situation in the United States is distressing and fighting the federal Department of Homeland Security is no easy task. But there are effective tools that can provide some relief. Turning Pittsburgh into a sanctuary city is the very least that can be done. And given the recent federal judge ruling blocking Trump regime’s attempt to cut off funding to cities that limit cooperation with ICE, there are fewer and fewer excuses for any local politician to NOT take action. We demand legislation to declare Pittsburgh a sanctuary city now!
