For Working-Class Defense of Immigrants!

With a stroke of a pen, hundreds of thousands of Haitians have lost Temporary Protective Status (TPS) and are at risk of being shipped back to a country that U.S. imperialism has utterly destroyed. Many are terrified of what this means for themselves and their families. Many left Haiti due to gang violence and poverty. They have been here for many years, and this is the only home they know. Many have now gone into hiding. This attack on Haitian immigrants will hit hardest in places like New York and South Florida. We must defend Haitians and all those targeted by Trump’s war against immigrants. The question is: how?

Many Haitian immigrant advocacy groups say to lobby your Senator to extend TPS and that we must rely on Democratic politicians who are “on our side,” like Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Let’s get one thing straight: these people will never help us. The Democrats are the ones who paved the way for this horrible situation in the first place. They lied over and over again that they would make TPS permanent in order to garner votes and then never did, leaving Haitians to the wolves.

The Democrats speak in Kreyòl to pretend that they’re here for us but bow to Trump when he orders that Haitians be fired, claiming that there’s nothing they can do. Such bullshit. Zohran and others have promised to provide Haitians legal services. Haitians should make use of these lawyers if they want, but Zohran refuses to address the fundamental problem. Relying on these politicians is suicidal; it only tightens the noose around our necks.

The courts are not on our side any more than the Democrats themselves. The highest court in this country already sided with the Deporter-in-Chief. To fight back, we must know who our enemies are and who our friends are. The best chance for Haitians to stop the deportations and gain full citizenship rights is to mobilize a counterforce to Trump that actually has the power and interest to beat him back: the working class.

Unions: Defend Your Members!

The attack on TPS is an attack on the working class throughout the country, especially in South Florida and New York, where the working class is heavily Haitian and Caribbean. In these places, almost everyone is either directly from the islands or knows someone who is. These people are our families and our union brothers and sisters. If Trump is able to send a bunch of your coworkers packing, even those who did things the “right” way, what’s stopping him from going after you next? If you let him get away with attacks on the most vulnerable, it’s like cutting yourself off at the leg; things are only gonna get worse. The working class needs every muscle it can flex. Protect immigrants to protect yourself! An injury to one is an injury to all!

A third of the Haitians who were covered by TPS work in healthcare. 1199SEIU is the largest of the healthcare unions and has thousands of members from the Caribbean diaspora, especially Haitians. There is a pre-existing labor shortage in healthcare, and with Haitian workers driven out, the job, the speedup and forced overtime will become even more punishing. Healthcare workers are already extremely overworked and face dangerous conditions on the job. Losing coworkers will lead to even more concessions to the bosses and worse conditions.

1199 leaders say they know that the end of TPS will negatively impact their entire membership. Well, then, how about you actually do something? Haitians are already being fired. Have 1199 leaders lifted a finger to win their reinstatement? Of course not. Instead, they look to Democrats to try to fight, which is a losing strategy.

1199 was in contract negotiations with NYC-area hospitals as the Supreme Court was about to do its part to tear up TPS. This was a golden opportunity for the union to fight for better working conditions and compensation for all, while fighting to ensure that its numerous Haitian members got status and were safe from deportation. Instead, 1199 leaders pushed through a low-ball contract as fast as they could in order to avoid making any trouble for the Democrats in the lead-up to the midterms. To turn this around, the 1199 ranks need to build up a new leadership that will actually fight for their interests on and off the job instead of sacrificing them to make the Establishment happy.

Teamsters Local 804, which represents Amazon and UPS workers, passed a motion in defense of Haitian immigrants. Good! Now, let’s make it real! This motion and others like it must be translated into action; we need the labor movement to stand on its feet and fight back against the attacks on the most vulnerable. Union contingents should be mobilized at immigrant defense protests to send the message that labor has a side with Haitian and other immigrants. This would be a step toward building up the unions as collective defense organizations capable of disrupting business as usual until their demands are met, like the rehiring of Haitian workers and granting them full legal rights. Work stoppages could rapidly change the situation in favor of union members and Haitians alike. If labor took the lead on this issue, it could galvanize the large Caribbean diaspora in New York to come out and join the fight.

There is a war on immigrants, from ICE murders to mass deportations. We cannot let this continue. Working-class defense of immigrants is long overdue. For a black/brown/labor alliance against firings, deportations and ICE!

Some native-born minorities see ICE terror as an issue that they don’t need to care about because it won’t affect them. But the entire black and brown communities and Caribbean diaspora have an interest in defending immigrants and fighting against deportations. It doesn’t matter what race you are, if you speak Spanish or Kreyòl or if you’re “illegal” or did everything right. If Trump wants you gone, his thugs, whether ICE or the cops, will sweep you off the streets. The way Trump is moving, we are all at risk of more state repression and violence. Allowing one group to be scapegoated only leaves you open for attack down the line. In order to put a stop to all these dystopian attacks, we must defend everyone who is in the state’s crosshairs.

• STOP THE DEPORTATIONS AND FIRINGS!
• FOR A BLACK/BROWN/LABOR ALLIANCE TO DEFEND IMMIGRANTS!