Portland: Free Lelo from the fascist monster

Portland, Oregon

On April 12 — following protests in Seattle and elsewhere in support of Alfredo “Lelo” Juarez Zeferino and in opposition to the thuggery of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) and the Department of Homeland Security — Portland community members held a rally in front of City Hall to support the detained union activist. 

Lelo was arrested in March in Sedro-Woolley, Washington, after being stopped by ICE while driving his partner to work. He was ripped from his car after an agent smashed the car’s window when he refused to exit it. 

Speakers from the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition and the Deportation Defense Coalition, which represents a coming together of unions and migrant rights groups, gave updates about the case involving Lelo’s indefinite detention. They also condemned the systemic conditions that lead to the oppression of migrants attempting to make a living and support family members in their home countries.

Lelo’s case is not an isolated incident; many immigrants have already been sent to ICE holding cells and concentration camps — but his situation highlights the horrific treatment that those who speak out face. He is part of Familias Unidas Por La Justicia, which is “an independent labor union of more than 400 Indigenous farmworkers,” according to the group. 

He has been targeted for highlighting the harsh conditions that farmworkers, especially those who are undocumented, have experienced and the acceleration of attacks and kidnappings by ICE/DHS, enabled by Trump’s reelection.

Conditions for migrants continue to worsen as all forms of lawfare are meted out to scapegoat and distract people from the overall economic and social deterioration in the imperial core. On April 10, for example, a federal judge cleared the way for what’s being called the “Alien Registration Requirement,” which forces undocumented migrants to register their fingerprints and carry a separate ID identifying them as undocumented, or else potentially be deported. 

This is a scare tactic and simply streamlines their deportations, as they already faced that threat without this new requirement. 

There is bipartisan support among both wings of the U.S. ruling class for these policies, with each successive regime — from Clinton to Bush to Obama to Trump to Biden and now again Trump — for ensuring that undocumented people live in terror and uncertainty. This is a sustained, never-ending war on all workers to keep everyone divided and powerless in the face of capitalist exploitation – and layoffs and cutbacks in essential government agencies, services and benefits.

Speakers at the rally reminded those present of the importance of people “talking to their coworkers” about the tactics of ICE/DHS, as corporate media will all too frequently promote talking points from government officials rather than the voices of the most oppressed. Those who understand this have a duty to use their knowledge to stay vigilant and join to build community organizations that can respond to an acceleration of the imperialist war on poor and working people of the world. 

As another speaker remarked, “Billionaires are afraid of us,” and workers and oppressed people need to act accordingly. We will not be silenced!