CFIR's letter to the Indian Worker Congress

Cass County Jail
Christopher Glory
450 34th Street
Fargo, ND 58103

Indian Worker Congress:

We at Coloradans For Immigrant Rights (CFIR), a project of AFSC, have followed your brave struggle which shows us not only the dangers of a “guest worker” program that treats people as commodities but also the power of workers united. It is truly inspiring to see how you have drawn upon the history of non-violent resistance from both your home country and the United States in defense of your freedom and human rights.

We are deeply troubled by the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement who would retaliate against those who seek justice, rather than hold accountable companies such as Signal that profit from the trafficking, servitude and exploitation of people. And we are saddened that some of you have been detained by ICE and are now facing federal criminal charges. The perpetrators, not the victims, of human trafficking should answer for their actions.

Our group, which represents hundreds of individuals across the state of Colorado, works to support the human rights of immigrant communities and to create a vision of a world where dignity and justice are afforded to everyone. Your actions contribute to such a world and we stand beside in your struggle. Thank you.

In Solidarity,

Mennonites Sued By Feds

ON the Southern Border the federal government continues to ignore the wishes of local governments and private property owners as well as tribes, environmentalists, ranchers, and human rights organizations. The federal government is intent on extending the physical barrier of a wall all along the border. Reagan once urged the USSR to "Tear down that wall", now we are building our own.

All of the groups mentioned above have begun to take a stand by refusing the federal government access to their land. The most recent of these is the Mennonite Church. The federal government is now suing them for access.

Simultaneously the government has decided not to build the wall along a posh golf course and country club. Apparently the wall is meant not only to keep poor people out, but also meant to impact the livelihood and environment of those citizens who are not rich.

Similarly, NAFTA and other free trade agreements are continuing to make the rich richer and the poor poorer in all countries who are members. Mainly, these agreements allow goods to flow freely while limiting human migration. The limitations on human migration pit workers against one another and isolate them from one another. The isolation of workers allows corporations and governments to pay less than a living wage and erode wages in developed countries, essentially weakening the bargaining power of workers. The wall makes it easier to maintain that isolation.

The wall will also result in riskier and more deadly border crossings. The wall doesn't change the conditions created by NAFTA or reform our immigration system. It maintains a power structure which exploits us all.

Check out Alternet's Headlines

Alternet, a alternative news site, has 3, count 'em, 3, articles today about immigration and worker's rights.

Check out their website at: www.alternet.org You may have to search for the third article, which is specifically about Burger King.

The Immigration Con Artists

By David Sirota,
Creators SyndicatePosted on November 24, 2007, Printed on November 27, 2007http://www.alternet.org/story/68729/

I once got suckered by con artists. As I was walking by, they baited me into betting that I could guess which shell a little ball was under. Moving the shells at lightning speed, they diverted my attention and tricked me into taking my eye off the ball. When I lost the bet, I felt bamboozled, just like we all should feel today watching the illegal immigration debate. After all, we're witnessing the same kind of con.
As our paychecks stagnate, our personal debt climbs and our health care premiums skyrocket, We the People are ticked off. Unfortunately for those in Congress, polls show that America is specifically angry at the big business interests that write big campaign checks.
So now comes the con -- the dishonest argument over illegal immigration trying to divert our ire away from the corporate profiteers, outsourcers, wage cutters and foreclosers that buy influence -- and protection -- in Washington.
Republicans like Rep. Tom Tancredo (Colo.) are demanding the government cut off public services for undocumented workers, build a barrier at the Mexican border and force employers to verify employees' immigration status. Democrats like Rep. Rahm Emanuel (Ill.) are urging their allies to either embrace a punitive message aimed at illegal immigrants, or avoid the immigration issue altogether. And nobody asks the taboo question: What is illegal immigration actually about?
The answer is exploitation. Employers looking to maximize profits want an economically desperate, politically disenfranchised population that will accept ever worse pay and working conditions. Illegal immigrants perfectly fit the bill.
Politicians know exploitation fuels illegal immigration. But they refuse to confront it because doing so would mean challenging their financiers.
Instead we get lawmakers chest-thumping about immigration enforcement while avoiding a discussion about strengthening wage and workplace safety enforcement -- proposals that address the real problem.
Equally deplorable, these same lawmakers keep supporting trade policies that make things worse. Just last week, both Emanuel and Tancredo voted to expand NAFTA into the Southern Hemisphere. This is the same trade model that not only decimated American jobs and wages, but also increased illegal immigration by driving millions of Mexican farmers off their land, into poverty and ultimately over our southern border in search of subsistence work.
The con artists' behavior is stunning for its depravity.
First they gut domestic wage and workplace safety enforcement. Then they pass lobbyist-crafted trade pacts that push millions of foreigners into poverty. And presto! When these policies result in a flood of desperate undocumented workers employed at companies skirting domestic labor laws, the con artists follow a deceptive three-step program: 1) Propose building walls that would do nothing but create a market for Mexican ladders 2) Make factually questionable claims about immigrants unduly burdening taxpayers and 3) Scapegoat undocumented workers while sustaining an immoral situation that keeps these workers hiding in the shadows.
The formula allows opportunists in Congress to both deflect heat away from the corporations underwriting their campaigns and preserve an exploitable pool of cheap labor for those same corporations. Additionally, these opportunists get to divide working-class constituencies along racial lines and vilify destitute illegal immigrant populations that don't make campaign donations and therefore have no political voice whatsoever.
Of course, diversionary scapegoating is nothing new. As Ronald Reagan pushed his reverse Robin Hood agenda, he attributed America's economic stagnation to "welfare queens." Similarly, Bill Clinton championed NAFTA while telling displaced workers their enemy was "the era of Big Government." This bogeyman, Clinton said, would be vanquished by ending "welfare as we know it."
Undoubtedly, the media will keep claiming illegal immigration is complicated for both parties. But Republicans or Democrats could begin solving the issue, if they simply stopped letting corporate lawyers write trade pacts and started punishing employers who violate wage and workplace laws.
Sadly, even those modest steps probably won't be taken. In a political system that makes it difficult to tell the difference between a lobbyist and a lawmaker, both parties employ the art of distraction to perpetuate the crises that enrich their campaign contributors. Indeed, whether their target is undocumented workers or indigent recipients of public assistance, the political con artists attack the exploited to avoid cracking down on the exploiters -- and with immigration, they are hoping America once again gets duped.

David Sirota is the author of Hostile Takeover: How Big Money and Corruption Conquered Our Government--and How We Take It Back (Crown, 2006).
© 2007 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/68729/