There is something that I don't quite understand. As far as I know the
SWP has never explicitly called for open borders, but it has always
called for amnesty for and solidarity with undocumented immigrants and
so the position in favor of open borders has been implied anyway.
Lately, though, articles on the question of immigration have explicitly
rejected a call for open borders. Since they never called for it in the
first place I suppose this is not a reversal in position, but what is
this about a call for open borders being utopian? Marxists have always
used the word utopian to refer to those who advocate a socialist society
without a scientific program to get it. So what does this issue have to
do with utopianism?
https://themilitant.com/2019/01/19/amnesty-for-all-immigrant-workers-unite-working-class/
Amnesty for all immigrant workers, unite working class!
By Roy Landersen
Vol. 83/No. 4
January 28, 2019
The capitalist rulers in the U.S. and the Democratic and Republican
parties that serve their interests agree that immigration policy should
be built on the needs of the bosses. They turn the spigot on when the
bosses need workers, and turn it down when production in factories and
agriculture falls. The use of immigrant workers without papers is a key
part of the mix, allowing the employers to sow division among workers,
which they use to push down wages and attack the conditions of all.
Tactical differences in the ruling class over the pace of immigration,
refracted through liberal Democrats’ never-ending “resistance” that is
aimed at bringing down the Donald Trump presidency, have led to sharp
divisions in Washington and a partial shutdown of the federal
government. One thing they all agree on is that many government workers
should keep on working with no pay.
Working people have no interest in backing either side of this skirmish
over the rulers’ need for cheap labor. Our focus should be fighting for
amnesty for all those in the U.S. without papers the government
considers “proper.” That is the road to unifying the working class,
organizing workers into unions and fighting against the attacks of the
bosses and their government.
And workers do have an interest in defending the rights of those from
abroad who seek to apply for refugee status here because of fear of
violence or persecution.
But calls by a layer of liberals and middle-class radicals to “open the
borders” are nothing but utopian posturing meant to score points against
their opponents in bourgeois politics, like Trump, but aren’t intended
to be implemented.
The Trump administration favors stronger controls on immigration and has
been demanding Congress fund a bigger wall along the Mexican border to
lower the number of people who come across without being processed. The
Democrats shed crocodile tears for immigrants and use their majority in
the House of Representatives to join in keeping the shutdown in effect.
The fact of the matter is that some of the most stringent restrictions
on immigration were enacted under the Democrats. In 1996 then President
William Clinton signed the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant
Responsibility Act. It expanded the powers of the immigration cops to
round up and deport those charged with being “illegal” and authorized
construction of the border wall. The hated la migra was built up,
becoming the largest federal cop agency. Deportations rose to an
all-time high in Clinton’s last year in office.
Factory raids exploded under George W. Bush, but were brought to a halt
after millions of immigrant workers went on strike and protested on May
1, 2006.
The first parts of a border wall were built near San Diego in 2000,
under Clinton. It was expanded under George W. Bush and again under
Barack Obama, covering more than 650 miles. “We have gone above and
beyond what was requested,” Obama bragged in 2011. His efforts were
backed 100 percent by the current Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
Obama dramatically expanded the “forced removals” of immigrants, which
steeply increased the penalties of “illegal re-entry” into the U.S. And
during his presidency the number of felony prosecutions on this charge
averaged over 35,000 every year.
The government ‘shutdown’
Millions of workers wouldn’t miss the rulers’ cops and jailers as well
as the legions of federal regulators who cover everything workers have
to apply for with red tape if much of the federal government shuts down
forever. But that isn’t going to happen.
Such shutdowns are carefully selective. They come into play when
tactical divisions between the ruling parties allow federal budget
allocations to run out with no new ones in place.
Exempt are all the repressive bodies of capitalist rule — the army,
National Guard, border police, federal prison guards and the like. The
boss class won’t let these pillars of their rule lapse for even a minute.
Some federal mandates continue, including Social Security, Medicare and
Medicaid. But no one who becomes eligible can register for these programs.
What “shuts down” are many agencies and jobs that make payments to
workers and others who need welfare benefits, food stamps, disaster
relief and similar programs. Farmers can no longer get federal loans.
So far roughly 380,000 of the 2.1 million federal employees have been
furloughed, and another 420,000 have been told to report to work but
they won’t get paid.
Democrats and Republicans blame each other for the shutdown, but they’re
both responsible. It’s another example of the rulers’ disdain for the
crises working people face today.
In This Issue
Front Page Articles •SWP takes working-class campaign all across Texas
•‘Take a map, stop in towns along the road and campaign’
•Amnesty for all immigrant workers, unite working class!
•Join May Day brigade to see Cuba’s revolution
•Thousands turn out to support striking Los Angeles teachers
•US rulers brag about how they’ll use their military in Middle East
Feature Articles •‘In US, unlike Cuba, farmers can lose their land’
Also In This Issue •Sudan toilers protest gov’t attacks, years of wars
•Ninth week of ‘yellow vest’ protests across France
•José Ramón Fernández’s life reflects the strengths of the Cuban Revolution
•‘Cuban people know what they are defending’
•Thousands of Bay Area teachers rally for school funds
Editorials •SWP Statement: Support Los Angeles teachers strike!
On the Picket Line •Virginia teachers to rally Jan. 28 for public
education funding
•Bangladesh garment workers: ‘Implement minimum wage raise’
Books of the Month •Sankara: ‘The future demands that women be liberated’
25, 50 and 75 years ago
Letters
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Jules Verne
“ Reality provides us with facts so romantic that imagination itself could add
nothing to them. ”
― Jules Verne