Migrants in the US: “Stop talking and defend our dignity”

Chicago. Local immigrant leaders from Chicago and other Illinois cities welcome the Democratic National Convention with a message: stop talking and stand up for the basic rights and dignity of those who nourish this country with their work, their culture and their dreams.

At a meeting of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), young and veteran leaders from community and labor organizations and local, state and federal elected representatives expressed their commitment to continue defending the rights and civil liberties of all undocumented people, and to send the message both within the Democratic Convention and on the streets that politicians will be held accountable for their performance in this fight.

They show that at the local and state level much more progress has been made than at the national level. Artemio Arreola, director of community liaison for ICIRR, comments in an interview with The Dayin response to a question about the convention that will be held in his city: “I think that it will be here in Chicago, which is one of the cities that welcome immigrants in practice, they have shown it in public policies and budgets, and also in the state of Illinois, where real and strong changes have been made in favor of immigrants… it is one of the best states that welcomes.”

Measures that benefit everyone

For example, he notes that “it is forbidden to build a migrant detention centre here and the existing ones have been completely closed,” the result of a 12-year campaign by immigrant activists and their allies.

They also obtained driver’s licenses, health programs for minors and adults, support for housing expenses for everyone, “and we are talking about undocumented immigrants. “It is a window where the state and the city can see how they have changed public policies that benefit everyone,” and at the convention “we want to show the work that we have been doing for the last 22 years.”

Representatives of these struggles, including local, state and even federal politicians, are expected to “bring a clear and strong message about legalization for all. That is what we are seeking in order to counter in a more aggressive way the policy, which we have already been told consists of mass deportations.”

Arreola emphasizes that it is necessary to “make clear how to counteract these very strong attacks, not only on our community, because they are also direct attacks that have been made on Mexico… with the issue of the border or with the issue of drugs or cartels.

Illustration of Casa Michoacán, in Chicago. ‘Photo La Jornada’

“It’s an attack on Mexico.” He stresses that these efforts to promote immigrant involvement in the political arena are led by young people, who “learn community organization, political organization… We have been doing this for more than two decades, where we already have many young people who are already in the legislature, they are senators, representatives, or in the municipal government in the city.”

In other words, they are the political leaders of the future. Some of them are already leaders of the present. At the meeting for the ICIRR Democracy Project held at Casa Guanajuato, young leaders spoke about the mobilization of the immigrant vote at all levels, but stressed that it is not just about this next election, but rather part of an ongoing agenda.

Dulce Gonzalez, from the United Workers Center, is one of the young leaders who expressed anger and conviction from her experience with an undocumented father who was detained for two years, that she is dedicated, she says, to making politicians understand that when they talk about immigrants, they are talking about “living, breathing human beings” who should have the right to dignity.

That message was echoed by Yonggang Xiao, from a coalition of Chicago’s Chinese immigrant community. Celina Villanueva, who was trained in this type of work and is now a state senator, declares that “democracy is not just about voting, it is not a spectator sport, it is an action sport,” adding that “immigrant voices have to be expressed during the convention, but also after… this is not just about a convention these days, but about how immigrant communities are changing the country.”

This message will also be heard on the streets, as some of these immigrant activists will participate in marches outside the convention next week. Moreover, they will be part of an extraordinary mosaic of grassroots forces mobilizing to demand that Democratic Party politicians stop supporting Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, that women’s and gay rights be more strongly defended, and that they stop criminalizing immigrants and fully respect their rights, including the right to asylum.

Defying the federal government

Oscar Chacón, director of the network of immigrant organizations Alianza Americas, says he does not expect there to be a real change in national immigration policy even if the Democrats win, but it could be seen at the local level. In an interview with The Dayemphasizes that “the role of states and cities needs to evolve to a different plane of action. Why? Because even if Kamala Harris wins the election, Congress is not going to change radically.

So, for example, the idea that we are going to pass sensible immigration reform with bipartisan support, when you have a neo-fascist bloc deeply influencing the Republican Party and, in addition, some Democrats, is not going to happen. So, what are you going to do as a party, already in a decentralized logic, when you have millions of people in California, New York, Illinois, New Mexico… demanding a solution? What are you going to do? I think that something sensible that should happen is for the states, individually and jointly, to challenge the historical premise that the only one that makes decisions on immigration policy issues is the federal government. And, for example, create work permit programs at the state level.

“Because at the end of the day, if you ask an undocumented person what they would like to change, they will answer three things: to work without being screwed, that is, to work with authorization, to be able to visit my family in my country of origin and to give my children everything that others have… Nobody tells you: I want to be a citizen… it is not the first thing on people’s minds. And those things, with the exception of entering and leaving the country, can be resolved at the level of state policy.” Perhaps the message from those who promote immigrant rights in Chicago is that change is in the hands of the actions of future politicians outside of Washington.