No human being is illegal!

Obama just announced what his administration calls “Deferred Action” for undocumented youth, which means many young people brought here as children by undocumented immigrant parents will no longer be subject to deportation. This is certainly one of the most shameless--out of a plethora of such acts--against undocumented immigrants by the Obama regime. One’s immediate reaction is that this is just a pre-election stunt to curry favor with a disenchanted Latino electorate since his administration has deported more immigrants, audited more businesses, & conducted more workplace raids on suspicion of hiring the undocumented than the Bush regime. Obama’s deportation policies have shown arrant contempt for child welfare by deporting parents & forcing thousands of children into a bankrupt, over-taxed foster system. The thousands of unaccompanied minors caught trying to cross the US-Mexico border are offered detainment in place of social services. Nearly 800,000 immigrant child farm workers were just denied protective legislation because it conflicted with the profit needs of agribusiness. So why is Obama showing such concern for undocumented youth? Is it just an election stunt!? And the answer is “no”; it is even more cynical & malignant than that.

First of all, as Obama has insisted, this is not an amnesty. It is provisional. It has several restrictions, including age, residency, & time restrictions. It is likely to be legally challenged & almost certain to be reversed. One must register, & reregister every two years to even become eligible for a work permit. In other words, there is no reciprocity here. You hand the government your identity & location without receiving any promises or legal commitments in return. So when they do reverse it, they know just who & where you are.

The cynical & treacherous aspect of this maneuver is that the Dreamer generation is the most active, energetic, growing segment of the immigration rights movement. More than being an electoral stunt, this is an attempt to cut the Dreamer movement off at the knees, to confuse & neutralize young activists. The Democratic Party throws millions of dollars in foundation money at immigration rights organizations to mute their protests & mortgage immigration rights to that party. Some will ignore the shameful record of the Obama administration & tout this “Deferred Action” as a victory. But emphasis should be placed on the word “Deferred”. They won’t grab you & deport you now; that will be deferred until after the elections. Undocumented youth are well-advised to think twice before handing their identity & location to immigration control authorities. The movement is being thrown this sop to demobilize it. The demands must remain “Amnesty for all without restrictions of any kind”, “Stop the deportations”, “Immigration is a human right”, “No human being is illegal”. (Photographer not identified; from protest in St. Paul, Minnesota)