the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Jan 29, 2024
Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott continues his efforts to appear as the most militant opponent of immigration. In December, Abbott flew 120 migrants from Texas to Chicago and signed a law giving police the power to arrest anyone they suspect of entering the country illegally.
Earlier this month, when the Biden administration ordered Texas to cut down razor wire Texas troopers had put up along the U.S.–Mexico border, Abbott refused. He then ordered state troopers to deny access to the area to U.S. Border Patrol agents. They did this even when U.S. Border Patrol agents attempted to come to the assistance of migrants trying to cross the border when a mother and two children drowned.
How barbaric can you get, preventing agents from possibly rescuing migrants whose lives are in danger simply to make a political show?
A few days later, the Biden Administration asked the Supreme Court to order Texas to remove the razor wire on the Border and allow Border Patrol agents to the area, and the Supreme Court agreed. For now, however, Texas is refusing to do either.
Donald Trump and Republicans attempt to draw on the worst anti-immigrant attitudes among voters who have been led to believe immigrants are to blame for taking jobs from them and lowering wages.
In taking a stance against the most horrific tactics, like Abbott’s use of razor wire to endanger anyone who might dare cross the border, Biden attempts to appear a bit “kinder and gentler” on the issue of immigration. But in the end, his policies mean little for immigrants attempting to cross the border looking for a better life. The recent drowning of this woman and her two kids at the border are just one example among many. In 2022, the bodies of 853 people who died trying to cross the border were found. According to the Border Patrol, this was the most ever. The previous record was 568, set just one year before, Biden’s first year in office. The United Nations International Organization for Migration called the U.S.–Mexico border the world’s “deadliest migration route.”
Immigrants attempting to cross the border to flee difficult circumstances in their home countries are potential allies for workers in this country. Neither the openly hateful attitudes of demagogues like Trump, Abbott, and most other Republican politicians, nor the slightly more “refined” yet equally anti-immigrant actions of Biden and the Democrats, serve workers interests. Workers need to oppose them all.