For Immediate Release
Press Statement
September 30, 2015
Reference:
Joelle Eliza Lingat, Chairperson, Anakbayan New Jersey
Brian Flores, Solidarity Officer, Anakbayan New Jersey
Daniel Santiago, Solidarity Officer, Anakbayan New Jersey
(470) 309-2265, anakbayannj@gmail.com
State Violence is State Violence Regardless of Who Is In the Uniform: Anakbayan New Jersey Stands with the Mexican Community of Passaic Against the Police Harassment of Filipino Cop
Anakbayan New Jersey (ABNJ) links arms with the Mexican community of Passaic, New Jersey in condemnation of state repression in the form of police harassment and demand the discharge of Sergeant Roy Bordamonte. On September 10th, Passaic resident Jazmin Vidal uploaded a video from October 2014 of Bordamonte harassing three young people sitting on a porch, threatening to issue them a ticket. In response to an uproar of community action, he has been reassigned to a desk job as investigation continues. ABNJ condemns Bordamonte’s behavior and echoes the calls of the Passaic Mexican community for justice.
Although Bordamonte is of Filipino descent, it is our duty as a community to hold him accountable for his actions. As marginalized communities displaced from our home countries to the U.S. in search of economic stability and political refuge, Mexicans and Filipinos have a long, shared history. From the Delano Manongs and Mexican migrant farm workers to present-day labor export policies, our communities have been exploited for the profit of the ruling class. Our countries have become the playgrounds of the U.S. state through the impacts of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA). The oppressive state intentionally pits us against one another for the biggest threat to their power is the unity of all oppressed peoples. Despite reprehensible individuals like Bordamonte, ABNJ firmly remains unwavering in our solidarity with our Mexican brothers and sisters. Although we may come from the same islands as Bordamonte, he has shamed our people and our collective struggles, for which he must be responsible.
As a progressive youth and student organization, the three youth that were harassed just as easily could have been three of us. With 12 million undocumented Filipinos and increasing inaccessibility to schooling, we the similar struggles, especially in the underfunded and under resourced cities of New Jersey. Migrant working-class youth of color across the U.S. are constantly targeted and we must wield our collective strength to finally end corrupt policing and destroy the militarized state. We must galvanize our Filipino communities in the U.S. to stand for accountability among our people because the perpetuation of this behavior is a threat to us all.
At the time of release, Bordamonte still remains the supervisor of the Quality of Life patrol unit. As united communities, we understand that our quality of life is not improved by increased policing, but rather with political power in the hands of the people. With heightened extrajudicial killings of our Black brothers and sisters; the anniversary of the disappearance of the Ayotzinapa 43; and the paramilitary attacks on Lumad schools, we are united in struggle against a common enemy all across the world. U.S. imperialism impacts the families we have left behind and the families we have created here. Sitting on a porch, walking home with candy in our pockets, and trying to go to school are not crimes and we must organize for a changed tomorrow. While we gather for the community of Passaic, we also gather for the community of the oppressed all throughout the world in resisting state repression.
DOWN WITH IMPUNITY! FIGHT FOR LIBERATION!
END STATE REPRESSION FROM MEXICO TO THE PHILIPPINES TO NEW JERSEY!
LONG LIVE INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY!
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Anakbayan New Jersey 