Immigrants stay in the streets

Many tens of thousands of people marched across the Brooklyn Bridge into downtown Manhattan on April 1 to demand respect and legalization for 11 million undocumented immigrant workers. The more than 2-mile march route was jammed for over three hours.

April 1 march for immigrant rights in New York City WW photo: John Catalinotto

This New York action against HR 4437 was the latest in a massive wave of protests that has swept the United States from San Diego to Boston since the anti-immigrant bill passed the House of Representatives on Dec. 16.

Another major national protest is set for April 10.

Anyone standing on the railing of the Brooklyn Bridge pedestrian walk would have seen people from all of South and Central America and the Caribbean, mostly young working people with their families, demanding (1) no to HR 4437, also known as the Sensenbrenner-King bill, (2) legal status for undocumented workers, and (3) dignity for the millions of people without papers who work, pay taxes and obey the law.

Groups carried the banners of Mexico—there were many of these—and the Caribbean but also of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and nearly all the countries of South America, including Chile, Colombia and Uruguay. Showers were predicted, but they held off until the afternoon, and from the bridge in the sultry sunlight everyone could see clearly the bridges and skyscrapers of downtown Manhattan. Many people also held U.S. flags. Farther south in the bay the Statue of Liberty was visible in all its irony.

New York, April 1. WW photo: G. Dunkel

Along with the overwhelming number of people whose origins were south of the Rio Grande were smaller contingents of immigrants from China, Korea and Ireland. When these groups joined the militant chants, they also shouted in Spanish. A delegation from Workers World Party joined the march under the banner, in English and Spanish, “There are no borders in the workers’ struggle,” which drew cheers as it was unfolded.

Many chanted slogans came from earlier struggles. “Yes, we can,” from the farm workers’ struggles in California was the favorite, along with “The people united will never be defeated.” Some others were “Bush, listen, the people are in the struggle” and who keep silent will never be heard.” A defiant chant was “We’re here, we’re not going; if they throw us out, we’ll come back.”

Even motorists stalled in traffic on the bridge honked their horns in support. Many Black motorists—both
Carib bean-born and African Americans—raised clenched fists or gave vee signs.

HR 4437, introduced by Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), is the most racist, reactionary and xenophobic of 11 bills currently proposed in Congress, none of which satisfies the demands of the immigrant workers. HR 4437 would make any relative, employer, coworker, clergy, lawyer or friend of an undocumented immigrant into an “alien smuggler” and a criminal. HR 4437 was the threat that awoke the explosive reaction of the immigrant workers.

Workers World correspondent Berta Joubert-Ceci told a public forum March 31 that these bills represent a struggle between “the right and the ultra-right” and all of them increase police measures to stop immigrants from entering the United States. Even the least reactionary ones, like the McCain-Kennedy bill, set up a “guest worker” program, which means they allow some to become temporary residents with no civil rights except to work at unpleasant jobs at low wages without being jailed or deported.

Joubert-Ceci said that while programs like NAFTA sought to globalize imperialist control of the economies in Latin America, “the struggle of immigrants here is globalizing the reaction of the Latin American people to these neoliberal programs and bringing the struggle home.”

The latest polls have shown that recent immigrants who have legal papers are overwhelmingly sympathetic with the undocumented workers, and that even in the general population at least half are sympathetic.

Immigrant groups and their supporters have called for other major activities. The next are expected to culminate on April 10 in a National Day of Action, a coordinated series of regional demonstrations scheduled for New York, Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles and other cities, organized by labor, immigration, civil rights, religious and political groups.

At the same time, immigrant rights groups have begun to organize a national boycott and strike for May Day, May 1, to illustrate the historic positive impact of immigrant labor on the national economy.

The March 25th Coalition against HR4437, which organized the huge rally in Los Angeles, is calling for a Great American Boycott of no work, no school, no sales and no buying on May 1 to demand amnesty and full rights for all workers. The web site www.nohr4437.org has more information and a place to endorse.

In New York City the Troops Out Now Coalition is working with immigrant and other groups to organize a rally and march from Union Square on May Day in support of the national boycott. Its web site, www.troopsoutnow.org, will have updates on this developing action.