En Espanol
STOP THE ATTACKS ON CHILDREN!
This year, thousands of unaccompanied children crossed the southern border into the United States. They came from various Central American countries—El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua—seeking to escape the gang violence, death squads and poverty that threaten the lives of so many of America’s closest neighbors. But in reaction to this humanitarian crisis, far right-wing political bosses are financing demonstrations to drive out the children and to threaten the existing Latina/o communities of this nation.
The racist campaign has enlisted some of its troops from fascist organizations, including the National Socialist [i.e. Nazi] Movement, adding a new dimension to the crisis and threatening to spread organized hatred and terror against all Latino youth. It is necessary to confront this threat now, to defeat this new racist alliance, and to demand that America should live up to its professed ideals of freedom and equality for the many immigrants who have come to seek refuge from tyranny and mortal danger.
FREEDOM AND ASYLUM FOR THE YOUTH REFUGEES NOW—NO MORE DEPORTATIONS!
The ongoing waves of refugees flow from America’s foreign policy decisions that have ravaged the economies south of the border. The American political elite has sought to transform Latin America into a giant market for cheap labor and for the sale of American products, enacting policies that have driven millions to flee their homes, directly causing the undocumented immigrant population in the United States to triple in size within the past twenty years. Those same political forces are now seeking to push back the waves that they created, but not by undoing their predatory measures against Latin America. Instead, they are seeking to mitigate one political crisis by creating another: the increased militarization of the border, the proliferation of detention and processing centers, and the racially-targeted immigration manhunts all serve to exacerbate the crimes against America’s neighbors and to enforce second-class status for America’s growing Latina/o communities. This self-perpetuating cycle of human destruction must be stopped.
NO “FREE SPEECH” FOR FASCISTS, NO ALLIANCES WITH THE NAZIS!
The fact that Nazi organizations have been enlisted into the anti-immigrant forces represents not only a profound danger but also a profound weakness on their part. Their involvement at this juncture makes clear that only the most hardened racists can be mobilized to demand that hostile measures be taken against children—children whose only “crime” was to try to preserve their own lives by escaping from violence and destitution in their homelands. The involvement of Nazis also completely destroys any pretense of legitimacy for whatever process of mass deportations the government may seek to implement. When a government’s anti-immigrant policies receive the backing of genocidal fanatics, then even the most staunch conservatives ought to view those policies with deep skepticism.
But genocide is becoming all too relevant to the ongoing crisis: the act of deporting refugees back to life-threatening conditions is itself a form of mass murder. It is necessary to demand political asylum for the youth refugees, and to call a halt to the current process of deportations. As the American-made crisis deepens, the only humane and democratic policy is an open border and the right to asylum.
Fascists must not be allowed to enter the political arena—they do so only to cause death, destruction, and suffering. Their claims to “free speech” are merely a cover for organizing racist terror. Their aims and corresponding methods can only lead to attacks against any and all Latinos and other minorities. Their involvement is an unconscionable bloodstain on the record-breaking deportation process that has been implemented by a liberal administration, and must not be allowed to continue. There is more than enough room in America for the children refugees—but there can be no room for fascism anywhere.
MAKE AMERICA THE LAND OF FREEDOM, HOPE, AND EQUALITY FOR ALL!
For America to realize its promise of a free nation, a nation “conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal,” it is necessary to stand up for the dignity and basic rights of all immigrants now. The virtual enslavement of Latin American laborers has now led to a new Underground Railroad, and consequently to a new brand of slave catchers. It is time for the new Abolitionists to stand up. It is time for the American Dream to become a reality, and to rescue it from those who would make it a nightmare. Whenever and wherever racists mobilize to push attacks against Latino youth, they must be met with opposition and defeated. The hope for freedom and equality will be carried on the shoulders of those with the courage to stand up.
