April 2003

Views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of the AFSC.

Message from the Immigrant Community to the Peace Movement

Gabriel Camacho is the Regional Organizer of Project Voice/AFSC; Massachusetts chapter president of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, AFL-CIO; Executive Committee member of Jobs with Justice; and Steering Committee member of the Massachusetts Legalization Coalition.

The fast pace and decentralization of recent anti-war activities have often been cited as major reasons for miscommunication between immigrant communities and peace activists. As an immigrant rights activist I have always heard at anti-war rallies "We must work together!" from peace activists. This sentiment is quite sincere and as a result I have spoken at several peace demonstrations on behalf of immigrant organizations. A recent example of a civil disobedience in Boston, however, illustrates a certain profound lack of understanding of the issues confronting immigrant communities.

Late last year the Bush regime and Congress were able to implement the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System, or NSEERS, with little or no protest from "the peace movement." NSEERS requires males 16 years or older, from 25 mostly Arab and Muslim countries, to register with the Department of Homeland Security (formally the INS). Under this "Special Registration" individuals are photographed, fingerprinted, and interrogated by DHS officials. As a result of these proceedings thousands have been detained and hundreds deported. NSEERS is just the latest racist anti-immigrant law in the history of US xenophobia and certainly the most Islamophobic and anti-Arab to date.

The week ending March 21st marked the deadline for immigrants from "category 3" countries, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, to register. As part of the New England Immigrant and Detainees Response Network (NEIDRN), the AFSC was offering Special Registration "Monitors" training earlier that week. Monitors are community volunteers who provide on-the-spot support and legal referral to registrants outside the INS Regional Center. Just as I finished the training session of mostly South Asian volunteers, I was informed that a civil disobedience action (CD) was planned for the following morning at the JFK Federal Building in Government Center. I immediately expressed my concern that such an action at the very place where immigrants from category 3 were to register might have grave consequences for the registrants.

That evening groups planning the CD were holding a meeting to finalize their morning action. Before that meeting took place the Massachusetts chapter of American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee contacted the Cambridge Peace Commissioner, Cathy Hoffman, to express our concerns over the timing of the CD in conflict with the Special Registration. Commissioner Hoffman completely understood our position. Representatives of NEIDRN participated in the final planning meeting and those in attendance agreed that the CD should be delayed until after special registration was over.

What does this example tell us of the peace movement?

In this instance, quick intervention resulted in a good resolution to something that could have developed into a major problem.

But at the same time, for me it demonstrates that immigrants' issues are largely ignored or at best unknown to peace activists.

I have often spoken in public about how repressive legislation against immigrants is the front line of the war at home. Industries that rely on low-wage immigrant labor have implemented massive lay-offs. Successful Arab/Muslim-American-owned businesses have faced numerous attacks, both physical and legal. "Operation Tarmac"--a program of sweeping arrests of immigrants working in airports that was instituted shortly after 9/11--has instilled fear in the Central American and Caribbean communities, nation-wide; locally we are alarmed about the fate of the "Logan 19" detained in one arrest at the Boston airport. The Social Security Administration has dramatically increased the issuance of "No Match" letters to employers indicating that there is some form of discrepancy between an employee's paperwork and agency records. Although this is ostensibly forbidden, employers have made a practice of dismissing employees in a "no match," using the letter as an excuse to get rid of immigrant employees who assert their labor rights. The recently announced "Operation Liberty Shield" will require asylum seekers from countries that have "terrorists" to be detained at the discretion of the DHS. All people of color are more at risk and face even more discrimination due to the so-called anti-terrorist measures that in reality legalize racial and ethnic profiling.

I wonder if peace activists are truly aware of any of this.

So I ask the Peace Movement to take a profound look at itself. Think of the root causes of migration and the concerns of immigrants in the US. Take a historical and economic view of globalization and its consequences. Examine and learn from resistance movements in the Global South. We are here.

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