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El Laberinto, 1971-1987

Immigration bill: blow to democratic rights
The Immigration Reform & control Act of 1986 was passed by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in the closing days of the congressional session in October. President Reagan signed the bill into law in December.
Under consideration in one or another form since 1972, the bill has been known at times as the Rodino bill or the Simpson-Mazzoli bill, after the legislators from both the Democratic and Republican parties who sponsored it.
On July 1, 1987, six months after the bill goes into effect, "hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants...will wait patiently to accept America's offer of amnesty," the Times claimed.
"At about the same hour," the Times applauded, "Border Patrol teams will roll up to factories and farms where other undocumented workers are thought to work. They won't stop with apprehending the workers. For the first time, they'll have hard words for the boss--hard words that will, after a warning period, be followed by still penalties."
What the Times calls "freedom" will be more like slavery for millions of undocumented immigrant workers. The law strikes a further blow to their rights to work in this country, free from discrimination, exploitation, and police terror.
It deals a blow to the democratic rights of all. It means more neighborhood and factory roundups by the border patrol. And it legalizes the immigration cops' practice of forcing working people to prove they have the right to be here or face deportation--a violation of the constitutional presumption of innocence.
The bill's "amnesty" provisions provide cover for its more openly antidemocratic measures. The provisions allow immigrants who came to this country on or before Jan. 1, 1982, to apply for amnesty and to possibly become citizens at a later date.
Even this amnesty is booby-trapped. Applicants must show the INS documents "proving" their virtually continuous presence int his country since January 1982. But to avoid falling into the hands of border cops, many immigrants have systematically avoided creating such a paper trail. And, in an effort to intimidate potential applicants, U.S. immigration officials Vincent Henderson and Michael MacMahon predicted a floor of forged documents. According to press summaries of the new law, conviction on charges of making false statements in an application could bring five years in jail.
Applications for amnesty can be submitted during one year, ending June 30, 1988. After that, all undocumented immigrants will be fair game for the immigration cops. And those whose applications are rejected will be subject to immediate deportation.
A central provision of the new law bars the hiring of illegal immigrants. It requires state officials to verify the legal status of applicants for welfare, food stamps, Medicaid, unemployment compensation, housing assistance, and college aid. This will effectively bar undocumented immigrants from legal receiving these vital social services.
Such institutionalized discrimination is a blow to the gains that have been made in barring discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, or other grounds.

Mario Morena, associate counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, predicted: "If you're an employer, and a person who has darker skin and speaks with an accent comes in for a job undocumented, he's going to be scrutinized more closely. It will come down to a situation of 'them' and 'us,' and anybody who doesn't look like 'us' is 'them,' and they're not going to be employed.
In an attempt to hide the discriminatory nature of the new law, a provision was tacked on the barring of discrimination against legal immigrants, and an office was set up in the Justice Department to enforce this. That's the same Justice Department that hs been fighting to destroy affirmative action programs that aim to counter some of the discrimination against Latinos, Blacks, and women.
According to reports on the new law, employers must demand that ALL job applicants show proof of legal residence in this country. Bosses who are found to have repeatedly violated the ban on hiring undocumented workers may be fined or imprisoned. The Wall Street Journal noted, "The bill seeks to deputize employers to supplement the border guards."
One partial exception to the blanket ban on hiring undocumented workers is agriculture. The border patrol must have a search warrant or permission of the owner to raid farms. This assures that a steady stream of workers will be forced to submit to low pay and miserable working conditions on these farms as the price of protection from the immigration cops.
If the supply of cheap labor is inadequate, the law will also allow growers to recruit undocumented workers in Mexico and other countries between 1990 and 1993. They may remain in the United States for up to three years, but must work only in agriculture.
Such measures guarantee agribusiness a pool of exploited laborers who have no right to seek alternative work. And if they attempt to join a union or assert their human rights in other ways, the employers can invite in the border patrol.
The law authorizes a big increase in funding for the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which oversees anti-immigrant operations. It projects a 50 percent increase in the size of the border patrol, which now numbers 3,700 cops. The border patrol arrested 1.4 million alleged immigrants in the first 10 months of 1986..
"The President and the public want to retain control of the borders," declared a September 29, 1986 editorial in the New York Times. But these national borders are not in the interests of U.S. workers and farmers. They serve the interests of big business, which uses them to oppress working people in this country and around the world. These borders are used to block the solidarity of U.S. workers from their brothers and sisters in other countries.
From "The Militant" 10/31/86

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Immigration bill: blow to democratic rights The Immigration Reform & control Act of 1986 was passed by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in the closing days of the congressional session in October. President Reagan signed the bill into law in December. Under consideration in one or another form since 1972, the bill has been known at times as the Rodino bill or the Simpson-Mazzoli bill, after the legislators from both the Democratic and Republican parties who sponsored it. On July 1, 1987, six months after the bill goes into effect, "hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants...will wait patiently to accept America's offer of amnesty," the Times claimed. "At about the same hour," the Times applauded, "Border Patrol teams will roll up to factories and farms where other undocumented workers are thought to work. They won't stop with apprehending the workers. For the first time, they'll have hard words for the boss--hard words that will, after a warning period, be followed by still penalties." What the Times calls "freedom" will be more like slavery for millions of undocumented immigrant workers. The law strikes a further blow to their rights to work in this country, free from discrimination, exploitation, and police terror. It deals a blow to the democratic rights of all. It means more neighborhood and factory roundups by the border patrol. And it legalizes the immigration cops' practice of forcing working people to prove they have the right to be here or face deportation--a violation of the constitutional presumption of innocence. The bill's "amnesty" provisions provide cover for its more openly antidemocratic measures. The provisions allow immigrants who came to this country on or before Jan. 1, 1982, to apply for amnesty and to possibly become citizens at a later date. Even this amnesty is booby-trapped. Applicants must show the INS documents "proving" their virtually continuous presence int his country since January 1982. But to avoid falling into the hands of border cops, many immigrants have systematically avoided creating such a paper trail. And, in an effort to intimidate potential applicants, U.S. immigration officials Vincent Henderson and Michael MacMahon predicted a floor of forged documents. According to press summaries of the new law, conviction on charges of making false statements in an application could bring five years in jail. Applications for amnesty can be submitted during one year, ending June 30, 1988. After that, all undocumented immigrants will be fair game for the immigration cops. And those whose applications are rejected will be subject to immediate deportation. A central provision of the new law bars the hiring of illegal immigrants. It requires state officials to verify the legal status of applicants for welfare, food stamps, Medicaid, unemployment compensation, housing assistance, and college aid. This will effectively bar undocumented immigrants from legal receiving these vital social services. Such institutionalized discrimination is a blow to the gains that have been made in barring discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, or other grounds. Mario Morena, associate counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, predicted: "If you're an employer, and a person who has darker skin and speaks with an accent comes in for a job undocumented, he's going to be scrutinized more closely. It will come down to a situation of 'them' and 'us,' and anybody who doesn't look like 'us' is 'them,' and they're not going to be employed. In an attempt to hide the discriminatory nature of the new law, a provision was tacked on the barring of discrimination against legal immigrants, and an office was set up in the Justice Department to enforce this. That's the same Justice Department that hs been fighting to destroy affirmative action programs that aim to counter some of the discrimination against Latinos, Blacks, and women. According to reports on the new law, employers must demand that ALL job applicants show proof of legal residence in this country. Bosses who are found to have repeatedly violated the ban on hiring undocumented workers may be fined or imprisoned. The Wall Street Journal noted, "The bill seeks to deputize employers to supplement the border guards." One partial exception to the blanket ban on hiring undocumented workers is agriculture. The border patrol must have a search warrant or permission of the owner to raid farms. This assures that a steady stream of workers will be forced to submit to low pay and miserable working conditions on these farms as the price of protection from the immigration cops. If the supply of cheap labor is inadequate, the law will also allow growers to recruit undocumented workers in Mexico and other countries between 1990 and 1993. They may remain in the United States for up to three years, but must work only in agriculture. Such measures guarantee agribusiness a pool of exploited laborers who have no right to seek alternative work. And if they attempt to join a union or assert their human rights in other ways, the employers can invite in the border patrol. The law authorizes a big increase in funding for the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which oversees anti-immigrant operations. It projects a 50 percent increase in the size of the border patrol, which now numbers 3,700 cops. The border patrol arrested 1.4 million alleged immigrants in the first 10 months of 1986.. "The President and the public want to retain control of the borders," declared a September 29, 1986 editorial in the New York Times. But these national borders are not in the interests of U.S. workers and farmers. They serve the interests of big business, which uses them to oppress working people in this country and around the world. These borders are used to block the solidarity of U.S. workers from their brothers and sisters in other countries. From "The Militant" 10/31/86 [emblem]