PSL Vice Presidential Candidate Yari Osorio immigrated from Colombia to the United States at age three with his mother and older brother. He is now a U.S. citizen, but grew up undocumented. The harsh anti-immigrant policies in the United States propelled Osorio to become an ardent advocate for social and economic justice, and for equality.
President Obama’s insistence that his “hands are tied” on immigration reform was proven false June 15 as the administration announced an new policy that would allow undocumented youth to apply for temporary permission to remain in the United States. The “deferred action” measure would also allow those who are granted to apply for temporary work permits and social security cards.
President Obama’s election campaign move to appease immigrant youth falls quite short of true equality—but proves that the new generation of fighters for immigrant rights is a force to be reckoned with. The change in policy came as a direct response to the heroic actions carried out by undocumented immigrant youth who have escalated the fight for equality and legal status over the last four years.
Over the past two weeks, immigrant youth have staged sit-ins, hunger strikes and civil disobedience in front of and inside of Obama’s campaign offices, culminating with occupations of campaign offices across the country, including Cincinnati, Denver, Oakland, Los Angeles and Dearborn. Democratic campaign offices in North Carolina and Georgia preemptively shut down when they caught wind of planned occupations by undocumented students on Thursday.
The new measure may be a victory, but immigrant youth are not letting the administration sell their movement short. Several students continued their occupations following the new immigration policy announcement, explaining it did not meet their demands. One Cincinnati protester, Marco Saavedra, explained: “We know that it’s just a start because it’s not a pathway to citizenship. It doesn’t open a lot of other avenues to resources.”
Indeed, “deferred action” is far from equality or justice. Individuals under deferred action are essentially trapped within the United States, with their presence tied to their work authorization. If they leave for any reason—even a death in the family or some other personal emergency—they risk never being able to return. They cannot petition for family members. There is no pathway to permanent residency or citizenship. Deferred action can be denied or revoked at any time. People who have deferred action cannot vote or hold federal jobs.
Four years ago while the Democrats were looking to once again get their candidate into the White House, Obama carefully positioned himself as a defender and friend of immigrants in the United States. He promised comprehensive immigration reform within the first year of his presidency. The mobilization of millions of immigrant U.S. citizens and their families helped secure the 2008 election for the Democratic Party.
But immigration reform did not happen. In fact, the Obama administration has overseen the broadest and most aggressive assault on the immigrant community in history. In the first six months of 2011, the Obama administration deported more parents of U.S citizen children than any other president before him.
Obama has put more “boots on the border” than his predecessors, and has deported more immigrants in one term than George W. Bush was able to in two terms. Obama has imposed ICE on cities and localities across the country through the Secure Communities program, which allows any interaction with local police to trigger ICE involvement—even a call for help. The program also supports skyrocketing profits in the growing and increasingly privatized prison industrial complex.
President Obama could have used his first day in office to issue an announcement stopping the deportation of undocumented young people and granting them work authorization. He could have instituted a program, like others already existing called “Temporary Protected Status,” that allows the President to order certain immigration protections.
The bait-and-switch campaign that elected Obama in 2008 underscores a lesson that can never be overemphasized: Real progressive change is never won through the ballot. It must be won in the streets.
Since then, undocumented students have organized themselves around the country in many different ways to fight back. The students operate deportation defense support chapters at colleges and high schools that use traditional media and social networking to organize on short notice to stop deportations. Street outreach, rallies and public actions escalated as new anti-immigrant legislation passed in various states, criminalizing and terrorizing immigrant communities.
Obama’s policy change seeks to cope with the latest upsurge of struggle for immigrant rights into the safe channels of the electoral arena. It looks to capture the Latino vote based on the fear that a change in the presidency might result in a policy reversal. But in reality, with or without Obama in office, the policy can be changed at any time.
The administration hoped the order would appease the most vocal and determined sector of the immigrants’ rights movement—the youth. But we will not be silenced!
The power of our movement is great. A campaign that has a budget of hundreds of millions of dollars and shapes public opinion through mass advertising was shamed by undocumented students across the United States.
The PSL Lindsay/Osorio Presidential Campaign believes that no one’s right to work, pursue an education or live securely can “expire” or “be revoked.” The laws and policies that oppress and criminalize the immigrant community must not be “deferred”—they must be smashed.
The struggle for immigrant rights is part and parcel of the struggle against all forms of oppression. For all who are fighting for progressive change—against racism, mass incarceration, war and occupation, for the rights of labor and more—unity is essential for victory. An injury to one is an injury to all.
The Lindsay/Osorio Presidential Campaign salutes the immigrant youth movement for their bold initiative and leadership—let’s keep the struggle in the streets! End ALL deportations! Full rights for ALL immigrants!
