During recent migrant rights demonstrations, MIM has reported on the broad unity of many oppressed nation communities that are recent arrivals to the united $tates, including some that have been known for being divided in the interests of imperialism. Despite the lack of news from Washington DC on so-called immigration legislation, this unity and the struggle continues as conditions remain repressive for those without u$ documents. But the movement is still trying to ride the fence between internationalism and a pro-amerikan stance.

A recent organizing forum in San Francisco not only had the perfect balance of speakers from many oppressed nations, but a very diverse crowd that ended up being even bigger than organizers expected. This indicated that it was not just about identity politics, but a true mass movement. One speaker from the Black community answered the question about the need for unity of the oppressed nations by stating that, "we're already united, we don't have a choice." This is an important point for leaders to understand. The forces of history and economics are pushing the oppressed nations around the world towards unity against u$ imperialism. So why drain the energies of the pro-migrant movement in trying to garner support from amerikans and their labor unions, who are in the minority, while there is so much more to do among the oppressed?

People at the event, whose families had migrated from many different parts of the world, repeatedly stressed that it was not a decision to immigrate to a new place. Rather they were displaced people, forced to go to a foreign land where they were not wanted. Many mentioned u$ military and economic policies as being the impetus for this displacement.

Unfortunately, the word "worker" was thrown around much without a clear definition. MIM speaks of the proletariat as those who not only work for a wage, but receive less than the value of their labor and, most importantly, have nothing to lose but their chains. A Chinese womyn spoke about people in Chinatown that are owed $1.2 million in back wages from a garment factory, which still haven't been paid after the case was supposedly settled. This is the kind of thing that happens to the proletariat. The proletariat also face hunger, malnutrition, no access to medical care, lack of clean water and other environmental dangers. Too often, the word "worker" is used in imperialist countries to include people with retirement plans and four bedroom homes with two SUVs in the driveway and 2.5 kids in college alongside the proletariat. One of these self-described "workers" burst out with such a sob story about mortgage payments and kids in college to support a union leader who had been denounced by one of the speakers.

The confusion over who exactly was to be united for an effective pro-migrant movement was widespread. At one point, a leader in the coalition listed off the solutions to the problem as being job creation, economic development and working with the unions. One man even said, "this isn't about immigration, it's about workers." This was followed by many who wanted to unite with amerikan labor unions, what they called "uniting the workers."

The best any presenter did to counter the pro-amerikan slant was a fiery speaker from Palestine who asked what the difference is between the wall along the Rio Grande and the wall in Palestine, stressing that we need not consider the desires of amerikans who stole the land in the first place. He also insisted that the movement be led by the "workers" and not the middle class. While it should be obvious to most of the people at this meeting, we must point out that the people that many would consider "middle class" in their home countries have less material wealth and stability than the average amerikan. So rather than confuse people with terms like "middle class" we say that we must be led by internationalism, which means working in the interests of the proletariat of the oppressed nations and against the oppressor nations as a whole.

In one of the discussion groups that we participated in, a comrade explained the root cause of migration as being the sucking of wealth and resources of most of the world to the u$ and other imperialist countries, forcing the people of those exploited countries to follow that movement to meet their material needs. Everyone voiced agreement. A member of Global Exchange then tried to build off of that by talking about educating amerikans about how NAFTA/CAFTA are threatening to impoverish everyone. The MIM comrade stressed that her point was the opposite, that amerikans are receiving the wealth and that is why we have all that we do in this country. The Global Exchange member agreed but said that the corporations threatened us all and amerikans would eventually feel it. The comrade responded that this may prove true, but amerikans will certainly be the last. The conversation seemed indicative of the general line of people at the event. There was great internationalist sentiment tied up with much interest in working with the oppressor nation as a natural ally. The need for Marxist class analysis could prove vital to the future success of the struggle for migrant rights in the united $tates.

There were multiple calls to involve the labor unions and unite the so-called "workers." Some discussion groups came up with ideas for involving the white community, being disappointed by their lack of participation in May. The pro-migrant movement should ask itself some questions: Shall we beg the oppressor for mercy or force him to stop exploiting us? Shall we organize those whose interests are directly tied to migrant rights (ie. migrants) or those who are organizing to militarize the border? Shall we join the struggle of the majority of the world against the minority who are oppressors, bringing a quicker end to a system based on exploitation? or should we try to unite the oppressors and the oppressed and hope for the best?

Anything less than abolishing imperialist borders means accepting that there will be a class of people who are exploited and kept out along with a class of people who are allowed to enjoy that exploitation within imperialist borders. Communists work for an end to all exploitation and a world without classes. To meet that end it is incumbent upon us to push for proletarian unity among the oppressed nations first. Then amerikans will have to choose whether or not they support the oppressed on their own terms. Regardless of their individual choices, the majority of the world will be united in demanding the self-determination of all people. We will continue to struggle over these questions as the pro-migrant movement prepares for more massive rallies on the amerikan Labor Day in September.