Federal agents are terrorizing immigrants with raids at workplaces, stores and communities across America. It is easy to forget that in 2006 millions of Americans joined protests for immigrants’ rights. Studying what happened in the struggle of undocumented college students offers lessons for renewing consciousness and mobilization today.
In 2006, large demonstrations took place in the United Stated against HR 4437, a bill in the U.S. Congress written in anti-terrorist rhetoric to make it illegal to help undocumented people. In unprecedented numbers, undocumented people united with allies and took the streets to demand immigration reform. Rallies in 10 cities occurred from March to May 2006. Over one million people of diverse nationalities marched in Los Angeles and over half a million in both Chicago and Dallas.
This united movement forced the Senate to kill the bill. For the next few years, undocumented students in higher education fought for a program allowing them to study and work without risking deportation. That policy, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), was finally announced by President Obama on June 15, 2012. It deferred deportation, granted work permits to students who met requirements such as having no criminal record and being under 30 years old.
However, DACA was weaker than the DREAM Act sought by the movement and did nothing to protect the mass of non-student immigrants. Activists kept lobbying and organizing, but without the threat of HR 4437 and with students winning DACA benefits, the movement was far smaller than in 2006. In 2017, President Trump’s announcement of his intention to end DACA, resulted in lawsuits against Trump to defend it. In 2021 a federal judge ruled that DACA recipients could keep their benefits, but no new DACA applications could be processed and the cases moved slowly toward the Supreme Court.
Today DACA recipients face much uncertainty as re-elected President Trump threatens undocumented people with deportation. At the same time, we have seen attacks people who aid the undocumented. According to the Associated Press, there are approximately 535,000 DACA recipients. Many are hesitant to renew their permits while others are taking Trump’s threats seriously and are preparing for the worst.
DEFENDING IMMIGRANTS RESISTS FASCISM
Thus far, the Trump administration has not responded to what it plans to do about DACA recipients, but Trump has appointed hardliners Stephen Miller and Thomas Homan to his Cabinet. These two men see undocumented immigrants as a burden on the economy. During the first Trump administration they supported the separation of families. With Miller and Homan serving Trump, conditions for immigrants promise to get worse.
The public must continue to speak out on the issue of immigration reform and end negative views of undocumented immigrants. Such views are meant to divide our class with talking points that minimize the labor and purchasing power of the undocumented. They also spread fear and make the undocumented scapegoats for the failing capitalist economic system. Instead, we must highlight the growing wealth gap between the poor and the rich in the United States.
We depend on undocumented immigrant labor to sustain some of the most vital jobs such as care work, construction and agriculture. Not only does it contribute its labor, but it also contributes significantly to taxes and Social Security. Persecuting undocumented workers in these industries will slow down the economy. It will also create conditions for fascists to blame other workers instead of the ruling class for the crisis. The fascists use the issue of undocumented immigrants to push their political rhetoric among the dispossessed class.
BUILDING HOPE THROUGH MOVEMENT FOR UNITY
DACA is a temporary strategy used by politicians to appease the call for comprehensive immigration reform. This reform should create pathways to citizenship for most undocumented immigrants and respect their human rights. While DACA helps some college-going immigrants, it creates a hierarchy of who deserves protections or pathways to citizenship. We need movements that unite our class and expose especially the slave-like conditions and pay under this system. Immigration reform must also address the negative effect of U.S. actions on conditions in other countries, which causes migration.
Student activism has produced many gains in terms of immigration policy. DACA applicants also realized that surrendering information on their status to the state increased their risk of deportation. Many of them understood that they needed to organize and create strategies to fight against possible brutal government repression. Many DACAmented students (using DACA protections) who finished college and got higher-paying jobs still take part in improving the lives of the undocumented.
We can learn many lessons from the undocumented and DACAmented student movements. They show the importance of sharing information on how to protect themselves and seek help during Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. Students have also joined demonstrations and campaigns to oppose mass deportations and call for more legal rights for all undocumented immigrants, not just students. They have also assisted refugees through national Know Your Rights events.
Today’s immigration raids aim to build a fascist political system that benefits the class of exploiters. The 2006 immigrants’ rights taught us that a united working class can stop attacks on any sector and stop fascism. We can then push for a society that values human lives over private property.
Published on February 20, 2025
This article originated in Rally!
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