[Marxism] Chicago conference plans actions demanding legalization of immigrants

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I am submitting this article from the Militant because of what seems to me
the intrinsic importance of the event reported. I would like to know if
others have more information about it.
Fred Feldman



www.themilitant.com

The Militant
Vol. 72/No. 12      March 24, 2008 

 
Chicago conference plans actions for legalization 
(lead article)
 
BY BETSY FARLEY
AND RYAN SCOTT  
CHICAGO?A Midwest Convention in Defense of Immigrant Rights, held here March
8-9, brought together more than 200 workers and students from across the
region to plan actions for legalization on May Day and respond to attacks
against immigrant workers. 
The conference was organized around three demands: legalization of all
immigrants, residency with civil and labor rights, and a halt to raids,
deportations, and other acts of intimidation. 

?In the middle of an economic crisis that threatens the jobs, homes, and
health of families, undocumented immigrants are being made the scapegoat by
politicians and commentators,? said Rosi Carrasco, a conference organizer
and member of the Latino Organization of the Southwest, in opening the
plenary session. ?But we are not responsible for the crisis. We have the
right to be recognized as residents, to have papers, and to choose
citizenship. Fundamentally we have the right to dignity.? 

?We need to work to get the unions to support the May Day actions this
year,? said Jorge Mújica, a leader of the March 10 Movement and organizer
for the United Electrical Workers. He pointed to several examples in the
Chicago area where workers have successfully fought company attempts to fire
workers over Social Security ?no-match? letters. 

At Wheatland Tube, a Chicago manufacturer of tubing and conduit, workers
belonging to the United Steelworkers union have prevented the company from
firing 63 workers with supposed discrepancies in their Social Security
numbers, according to Héctor Gómez, a worker at the plant. ?For two years
the company has been trying to fire these workers,? Gómez said. ?Some have
17 years seniority, and the company wants to replace them with lower-paid
new hires.? 

Twenty-five young people, most of them high school students, participated in
a workshop on youth involvement in the immigrant rights struggle. Workshop
participants are planning an April 12 citywide gathering ?where young people
who want to organize for the May 1 march can come and speak out and learn,?
said Tania Unzueta, 24. 

A panel took up immigrant rights and the elections. Speakers were Socialist
Workers Party candidate for U.S. president Róger Calero, Green Party
candidate for U.S. Congress in Illinois District 4 Omar López, and Shaun
Harkin from the International Socialist Organization. 

Later in the conference Mújica listed the positions of all the Democratic
and Republican party candidates in the presidential election, pointing out
that all of them support the border wall and none of them call for
legalization of the undocumented. 

Workshops were also held on the fight against racism, the North Atlantic
Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), fighting anti-immigrant laws, and the impact
of the war on the fight for legalization. 

A workshop on organizing a Washington, D.C., lobby day May 1 discussed a
proposal for legislation that would give five-year renewable visas to
undocumented workers. Emma Lozano of Chicago immigrant rights organization
Sin Fronteras (Without Borders) said the Congressional Hispanic Caucus is
expected to introduce this legislation in March. Jesse Diaz, a professor at
University of Illinois Chicago, urged delegations from major cities where
May Day marches are organized to be part of the lobbying effort in
Washington. Others spoke to the need to keep organizing visible actions in
the streets. 

?I haven?t been to one of these meetings before, but I went to the march
last year and I came to the conference when I heard about it,? said Rosalba
Priego from Chicago. ?We shouldn?t be pessimistic, we need to keep doing
this. We have the opportunity, we have the political strength, and we cannot
be seen as victims.? 

The conference concluded with a call to unions, community organizations, and
activists to organize a massive march on May Day in Chicago, with the
participation of workers and immigrants from all the Midwest states, and to
organize local demonstrations across the Midwest. 
 



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