SWOPblogger

Karlos Says: From our friends over at SWU

NO U.S. TROOPS on the Mexico-US Border

May 16, 2006
San Antonio, TX
Southwest Workers Union
(210) 299-2666

US-Mexico Border – Southwest Workers' Union denounces the proposed placement of military troops along the US-Mexico border. Increasing military presence will only increase violence in our communities. The presence of National Guard or any military troops on the US-Mexico border will serve as an internal ‘occupation army’ and will increase the fear, terror, repression and violence in the impoverished border region. One has to remember Esiquiel Hernandez Jr. who was assassinated by US Army soldiers ‘dug-in’ near Redford, Texas. Hernandez was a senior in High school when he was shot, abandoned and left to bleed to death.

The US House of Representatives, continuing a racist attack on migrant communities, approved the Goode Amendment, a measure authorizing the Secretary of Defense to place military troops along the southern border. The Goode Amendment named after Virgil Goode (R-VA), was attached to the Defense Department Authorization bill. President Bush has proposed placement of the thousands of National Guard troops on the US-Mexico border.

Southwest Workers' Union, along with many border social movement organizations, opposes the targeting of the southern border for war and repression and scapegoating migrant communities.

Border communities and social movement organizations are united in opposition to the placement of National Guard troops on the border. “It will open up a war against the migrant,” said Ruben Solis of Centro Por La Justicia in San Antonio, TX. Che Lopez, Co-Director of Southwest Workers' Union added, “The government is now engaging in a War on Migrants, a War on Katrina survivors and a War on Iraq.” According to Black Workers for Justice of North Carolina, “the money that was not invested in the New Orleans levees that killed thousands will be invested on the border wall of death that will kill thousands as well”.

Today Border communities face a militarized border characterized by violence, searches, stops, detentions, arrests and racial profiling by the Border Patrol in Mexican and Latino neighborhoods on either side of the border.

Border residents will face a daily ‘state of siege,’ low intensity warfare, a ‘Wall of death’ intended to physically seal the US-Mexico borders, electronic sensors, football stadium lights, night vision, satellite surveillance, and jeep, ATV, air and land patrols by 20,000 border patrol agents day and night.

The US saw millions of migrants and allies march in the months of March, April and May in hundreds of cities and about 40 of the 50 states. The March and rallies demanded “Rights for all migrants” including legalization, human and worker rights. The Bush administration‘s response to the ‘General strike’ of May 1 and the mobilizations of April 10^th is coordinated repression through lining friendly border with National Guard and a de-facto occupation of border communities.

NO U.S. TROOPS ON U.S.-MEXICO BORDER

RIGHTS FOR ALL MIGRANTS

RIGHT TO WORK AND ORGANIZE

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

NO MASS DEPORTATIONS

UNIFICATION OF FAMILIES

OPEN BORDER WITH US-MEXICO

STOP THE WAR ON MIGRANTS

STOP THE WAR ON KATRINA SURVIVORS

END THE WAR ON IRAQ