U.$. and Mexican bourgeoisie negotiate immigration reform By a SLALA comrade Since their first meeting (as leaders of their respective countries) in February, Vicente Fox has been pushing George W. Bush to increase the number of Mexicans admitted to the united $tates as "guest workers" and secure basic rights for Mexicans crossing into the united $tates "illegally." In exchange, Fox would do the united $tates' dirty work by policing Mexico's southern border and arresting undocumented immigrants from other parts of Latin America intending to cross into the united $tates through Mexico. The u.$. imperialists appear ready to make some superficial but nonetheless welcome reforms to quell outrage against the exploitation and ill-treatment of undocumented workers. The reforms also serve their immediate economic and opportunistic political interests. On July 23 a cabinet- level panel (made up by big-pigs Attorney General John Ashcroft, Secretary of State Colin Powell, and several Mexican officials) recommended that Amerikan president George W. Bush support a plan to allow the estimated 3 to 4 million undocumented Mexican immigrants living in the united $tates to apply for permanent legal status. The exact conditions required for obtaining permanent legal status have not been determined, but it is estimated that only about 1 to 2 million of those undocumented immigrants in the united $tates would qualify. The panel also recommended a new temporary-worker program that would allow for some temporary workers to achieve permanent residency status over a period of time,(1) and receive full workplace rights like the ability to change jobs and join unions.(2) On Thursday, July 25, the White House further announced that it would consider non-Mexican undocumented immigrants living in the united $tates while opposing "blanket amnesty" for all undocumented immigrants.(3) High-profile bourgeois newspapers like the Wall Street Journal (4) as well as sell- out conservative voices like Linda Chavez (5) have voiced support for the proposal. They argue on bourgeois- internationalist and humanitarian grounds that undocumented workers are the backbone of the agricultural and services industries, so they deserve permanent legal status. These workers are ITAL de facto END permanent residents, they concede, the trouble that comes with treating them otherwise is not worth the benefits of such discrimination. The Wall Street Journal, Linda Chavez and Vicente Fox have each criticized the multi-billon dollar militarization projects along the border states, like "Operation Gatekeeper" and the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act. Chavez and Fox say these policies fail to discourage u.$. employers from hiring undocumented workers or deter Mexican workers from crossing into the united $tates. On the other hand, the nativist bourgeoisie clings to those benefits -- below-minimum wages and a tighter control on the labor market -- and sees "amnesty" as a slippery slope to open borders (would that it were). This camp includes Republican senator Phil Graham of Texas and anti-immigration group Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). In the spirit of Amerikan settlerism Phil Graham said that the immigration reform legalizing undocumented immigrants would only pass over his "cold dead political body."(5) Bilateral Bourgeois Political Opportunism Immigration reform offers the bourgeoisie on both sides of the border something to smile about. On the Amerikan side, with over one million projected undocumented immigrants possibly receiving permanent legal status, the Bush's cabinet may be looking to paper over the "anti-Latino" image of the Republican Party and win the next presidential election. On the Mexican side, Fox hopes to improve his image by wringing some concessions out of the Amerikans on an issue which appeals to both the middle class and the 48% (6) of Mexico's population that live in complete poverty. During the administration of Carlos Salinas de Gortari the Mexican government spent more money in Washington pushing for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) than protecting the lives of migrant workers in the southwestern united $tates. Similar neo-liberal efforts were pursued by the administration of Ernesto Zedillo. Fox does not have different priorities -- but a victory on the immigration front would make him look as if he does. Fox would also like to see the massive northern exodus of Mexicans legitimized. That diaspora is an important safety valve for Mexico's semi-colonial economy, which is plagued by unemployment. (That's why many head to "El Norte" in the first place, of course.) Mexican workers in the united $tates also send back billions of dollars every year. The imperialist grip on Mexico and Latin America continues Currently the wage difference between the united $tates and Mexico is 12 to 1, while the Amerikan economy depends on the unacknowledged subsidy provided by undocumented workers and exploited workers in both the Southwest and Mexico. This forms the center of the economic relationship between the two countries. Immigration is not just a human-rights issue. It exposes the subservience of the Mexican economy and government to foreign imperialism. The speculation of Amerikan economists that Mexico will be the next 'Tiger' economy because of its Free-Trade agreements, its close proximity to Amerikan markets, and technocratic elite from the best imperialists universities betrays the fact that imperialists are up to their old tricks and are likely to demand 'rapid economic development' through imperialist 'investment' in exchange for immigration reform.(4) The united $tates has already used immigration reform to dig its claws deeper into Mexico. In return for "amnesty" for undocumented Mexicans in the united $tates, Fox has implemented the $11 Million Plan Sur that employs the navy, federal, immigration and rural police to seal off Mexico's southern border. This comes on recommendation from the u.$. Immigration and Naturalization Service, which recently toured Mexico to see how immigrants from other parts of Latin America went through that country to get to Amerika.(6) Window of opportunity for the proletariat: Stop Operation Gatekeeper! Open the u.$.-Mexico Border! With parts of the bourgeoisie in Amerika and Mexico rumbling about immigration reform -- and others touting the benefits of "open borders" for goods and capital -- those of us fighting on the side of the international proletariat should take up the banner of internationalism, demand what progressive reforms we can expect form imperialism towards opening the border for the free movement of people. The proposals currently discussed in Washington about the possibility of permanent legal status for some undocumented immigrants currently in the united $tates does not do anything to stop the militarized u.$.-Mexico border and does not stop "Operation Gatekeeper" and others like it. A re- vamped guest worker program would succeed in a technical recognition of the essential role of Mexican labor in the united $tates, but would do little to stop the movement of people from Mexico to "El Norte." There is no reason to think that deaths due to military-style border blockades would be avoided. "Legalizing" those already here does not solve the economic problems in Mexico that drive millions to the untied $tates looking for work. Nor does it stop the demand for cheap, undocumented labor within u.$. borders. Allowing for permanent legal status of the undocumented immigrants currently in the united $tates is a progressive reform that may ease the lives of many people currently living in fear of deportation. But the super-exploitation of the people of Mexico and the Third World generally will be achieved through revolution for national economic self- determination. We cannot buy the lie that imperialist 'investment' in Mexico will keep people from fleeing to the united $tates -- that is the source of the problem. If Mexico could develop self-reliant socialism unemployment landlessness and poverty would diminish and there would be little reason for Mexicans to risk their lives to get to the united $tates. Because the bourgeoisie on both sides of the border are willing to negotiate a progressive reform and because there is so much more left to do to change the plight of immigrants here and people everywhere in the Third World there is no better time than now to agitate for MIM's demand to open the u.$.-Mexico border and stop Operation Gatekeeper. To take part in MIM's ongoing campaign against repression at the border go to http://www.prisoncensorship.info/archive/etext/cal/OpenBorder.htm, where you can read, articles, print out petitions and flyers. Demand justice for Third World workers! Stop Operation Gatekeeper! Open the u.$.-Mexico Border! Notes: 1. Bush Panel Backs Legalizing Status of Some Migrant, The New York Times, July 24, 2001. 2. 'Bush Hints at Broader Amnesty, Los Angeles Times, July 27, 2001. 3. Ibid. 4. 'Open NAFTA Borders? Why Not? Immigration is what made this country great', The Wall Street Journal, July 2, 2001. 5. 'Life would be more difficult without illegal aliens', Linda Chavez (http://www.townhall.com/columnists/lindachavez/archive.shtm l) 6. National Statistics, Geography and Data Processing Institute (INEGI), Qtd. in 'Mexico's Plan Sur Illustrates Subservient Migration Policy', Arturo Solís, Border Updater, July 13, 2001.