[Peace-discuss] Immigration and Black workers

[Barbara kessel]

I wrote to ask James Thindwa, the Illinois Director of Jobs with
Justice and a Black American organizer and writer, for his views on
the subject that Jenifer Cartwright has put before us on
Peace-discuss. He responded...

Barbara, re. "Another view of amnesty for illegal workers," here is what
I think, and feel free to distribute, even in edited form.:

It is beyond dispute that undocumented immigration disproportionately
impacts low wage, mostly African American workers. The debate ought to
be about what the solution is.

Certainly, Black Americans should view with suspicion the right wing's
newfound interest in their economic plight. If Republicans cared about
low wage black workers, they would have supported the proposed minimum
wage hike, living wage protocols across the country and health care
reform, all of which disproportionately impact poor blacks. So, we know
their motives are suspect. They are simply exploiting the plight of
black workers to advance an anti-immigrant agenda.

The fact is, what conservatives are prescribing as a solution will
exacerbate, rather than ameliorate, the job crisis in the black community.
Their insistence on punitive measures to further isolate and marginalize
immigrants will guarantee a permanent reservoir of exploitable labor for
employers. Undocumented immigrants with no rights cannot exercise basic
workplace rights, such as joining a union. That is exactly what
employers want. That vulnerability is what puts downward pressure on
wages and hurts native born workers.

If we agree that it is not feasible to deport 12 million undocumented
people, then we must ask: what is the best solution? Our (the
progressive) solution that calls for status legalization will confer
rights on undocumented immigrants, and thus deny employers the cheap
labor they want. With their newfound rights, immigrant workers can work
with African American workers to build power in the workplace, form or
join unions and fight for better wages—together. They can join other
movements and organize around a broader, far reaching political agenda
that includes national health care, global warming, school funding, Iraq
War, post-Bush civil rights restoration, and so on.

We need to force a public debate on these two alternative visions of
immigration reform. The marginalization course sought by conservatives
will ensure continued distress for low wage American workers, while the
more humane, morally compelling course advocated by progressives
promises to benefit both categories of workers, is consistent with
American constitutional tenets of "freedom and equality for all" and
imposes accountability on policy makers who have supported NAFTA-style
trade deals. Indeed, policy makers should be put on the defensive for
these trade agreements. That NAFTA and CAFTA have exacerbated
undocumented immigration is no longer debatable. Where is the
accountability of the politicians who continue to push these trade
deals, even as we speak? I think we spend way too much time defending
immigrants, instead of attacking trade policy. The Democrats and
Republicans who gave us these trade agreements should be put on trial,
not their immigrant victims.

Finally, we should force Americans to reflect on what America will look
like with 12 million people existing on the margins of politics and
economy, devoid of all rights? Is that an America people can be
comfortable with? And about the "border wall" as a solution, few believe
it will work, and in a post-Cold War Era, this should be an insult to
those who celebrate "freedom."

James Thindwa