Header image 

International Communist Workers Party

line decor
   To Contact ICWP, send an email to: icwp@anonymousspeech.com           
line decor

Español

About ICWP

Red Flag newspaper

Article Series from Red Flag

Communist Dialectics

Home

U.S.Rulers Need Immigration Reform to Defend Their Declining Empire With Workers’ Blood

BIGGER    SMALLER

Millions of immigrants and their supporters in the immigration rights movement are disappointed that Obama’s executive action “doesn’t go far enough.” Only half the undocumented workers here will “benefit” from it, with no path to citizenship. Every three years, those will be granted renewable relief from deportation, and work permits. To qualify, they must have arrived in the US before 2010 being younger than 16 or having least one US-born or legal resident child.
The dominant imperialist wing of US rulers was also disappointed. “The problems remain pretty much as deep as they did before the president announced his action last night,” remarked CFR Senior Fellow Ted Alden.  The CFR (Council on Foreign Relations) is the most influential US imperialists’ think tank.
These US rulers need a comprehensive immigration reform that puts the nearly 12 million undocumented workers and youth here on the path to citizenship. The millions of disappointed immigrants and supporters also wish for this.

Workers: beware of wishing for what the rulers want
The reasons for Obama’s executive order have nothing to do with humanitarianism. He is catering to the needs of US bosses’ dominant imperialist wing trying desperately to shore up and defend their declining empire from rival imperialists.
Their needs are to remain competitive in the world market, while pivoting to Asia-Pacific to contain and eventually militarily confront a rising imperialist China. If that were not enough, they are militarily stuck in the Middle East and are also pivoting to Eastern Europe to restrain and eventually militarily confront a resurgent imperialist Russia.
Their main priorities are patriotic low-paid labor and soldiers. They hope their comprehensive immigration reform, which eluded Obama, will provide them both. Their reform is opposed by a sector of their class whose main source of profits is based nationally and therefore has little interest in financing foreign military interventions. The dominant wing, however, still hopes to eventually prevail in Congress.
Immigrants and supporters should shed all illusions about any of these butchers being humane. Capitalism-imperialism has bred the most murderous, monstrous ruling class in history.
Capitalism came into existence by depriving the masses of their basic necessities and forcing them to sell their labor power to survive. It  is innately inhumane because it produces for profits, not for human needs. Production for profits dehumanizes our class. For the capitalists we are either beasts of burden to be bled for profits, or expendable cannon fodder for their wars for profits and empire. In either case, when no longer useful to them, we are discarded like garbage.
Only communism can restore our humanity. Communism’s production for need means that we will all have creative useful work for life. All will contribute to society according to ability and commitment and receive according to need. Collectively we will administer all aspects of our communist society without money, bosses, or their racism, sexism, borders or wars.

Immigrant workers are crucial to US imperialism’s survival
Workers’ labor is crucial to all economic activities. Its availability or lack of it can determine the rise or fall of empires. Thanks to its geographic location, the US has Mexico, and through it Central America, as huge sources of labor.  
These immigrants help prevent labor shortages and keep labor costs low. To regain their competitive edge and rebuild their war industry on the cheap, US bosses will force this labor cost even lower and use that to drastically reduce that of all US workers.
As soldiers, workers are also crucial for war. In preparation for wider wars, including world war, US bosses need to win immigrant workers to patriotism. Obama’s executive order aims mainly to win the gratitude and loyalty of the more than 4.5 million US-born children of undocumented workers and of about 2 million undocumented youth brought here before age 16.
With millions of them of military age, US imperialists could wage wider wars without reinstituting the hated draft—for now. For global war, since the average age of Mexican immigrants is 21years and that of all legal immigrants is 37, millions more, together with other US citizens, will be drafted into the military. 

Immigrant workers, soldiers and youth: potential force for communist revolution
Immigrants are not passive, submissive victims. They have a rich history of militantly fighting capitalism-imperialism, including civil wars against US imperialism and their local capitalist lackeys.
The International Communist Workers’ Party (ICWP) welcomes and urges these workers and youth to help mobilize the masses for communist revolution. In a communist world, without borders or nations, no one will be “illegal.” Neither will anyone be forced by hunger, poverty or war to leave their families in search of survival. Everyone, however, will be welcome everywhere to contribute their intellects, hearts and labor for the good of the collective.
Communist production and social relations will enable us to develop our human potential to the maximum, sharing our experiences and knowledge to develop communist collectives worldwide.
For this to become reality, we must wage an unrelenting ideological struggle for communism, most importantly in the barracks and the factories. We call on workers, soldiers and youth here and worldwide to join ICWP and concentrate our efforts in those two crucial sectors. Long live communism!

Next Article