For Immediate Release
Press Statement
January 6, 2016

Reference:

Ana Robelo, Deputy Secretary General, Anakbayan New Jersey
Nina Mariella Macapinlac, Anakbayan New Jersey
Dan Santiago, Solidarity Officer, Anakbayan New Jersey
(470) 309-2265, anakbayannj@gmail.com

ICE out of New Jersey! Down with Deportations, Down with U.S. Imperialism!

Less than a week into the new year, more than one hundred asylum seekers across the country have been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as part of a massive deportation effort by the American government. In New Jersey, there have already been many instances of ICE raiding communities to arrest and deport immigrants, especially families who entered the country within the last two years. “As I have said repeatedly, our borders are not open to illegal migration,” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Jeh Johnson said in a telling statement, revealing that the raids are a fear tactic in response to the increase of refugees from Central America. Anakbayan NJ demands the immediate end to deportations and condemns the recent spate of ICE raids as a form of state terror against migrant communities that have already suffered extensively from imperialist violence.

U.S. Imperialism and Bureaucrat Capitalism are at the root of this state terror and militarization of our communities in creating the conditions for forced migration and the treatment of migrants as labor commodities. While the Obama administration seeks to address the “immigration crisis” by deporting children and families, it is only further inflicting violence and avoiding responsibility for decades of direct intervention and military and financial support of brutal genocides and economic violence in Central America. From the massacre of more than 200,000 indigenous people in Guatemala and 12 years of civil war with countless disappearances and killings; to displacement in El Salvador backed by the Reagan administration; to the establishment of NAFTA in 1994 and CAFTA in 2005 to further extract raw materials, goods, and deregulate production costs and labor rights, Central America has served as a playground for imperialist plunder and violence.

Similarly, the U.S. has increased its military aid to the Philippine government to about 79 million alongside increased attacks on indigenous schools and communities in Mindanao — which the U.S. government treats as the second front of the War on Terror. Policies such as the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and the Enhanced Defence Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) provide the U.S. military power over and impunity in the Philippines. In the case of the murder of Jennifer Laude by U.S. Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton, he was given a reduced sentence of 6-12 years and will serve time in new prison built jointly by the U.S. and Philippine governments.

While this is a moment of intensification of ICE’s inhumane operations, its collaboration with police through DHS’s Secure Communities program, the Priority Enforcement Program (PEP), and its jurisdiction within 100 miles of a U.S. border allows it free reign to profile, arrest, and deport at will. The arrest and deportation of migrants has become an industry with more than 250 facilities nationally; 18% run by for-profit prisons.

1 in 6 Filipinos in the United States are undocumented, making up one of the largest undocumented Asian communities in the country. Filipinos migrate out of the Philippines due to lack of jobs caused by U.S.-backed policies that keep the country backwards. Without national industries and genuine land reform, the Philippine government forces its own people to leave in search of work, even at the risk of living without legal documentation. As U.S. based Filipino youth, we view ICE raids as a direct threat against our communities which have already suffered so much at the hands of U.S. imperialism.

Tomorrow on Thursday, January 7, Anakbayan NJ and other immigrant rights organizations from around the state are mobilizing outside the Newark field office of U.S. Citizenship and and Immigration Services (USCIS). The action and press conference will be held at 1 PM at 970 Broad Street Newark, NJ 07102. Join us as we fight to end deportations and ICE presence in our communities!

Report any raids in New Jersey to: (862) 249-5672

Resources:

Know your rights with ICE (English) – IDP
Know your rights with ICE (Spanish) – IDP
ICE Home and Community Arrests – IDP
Stop Separating Families Rapid response toolkit

NOT ONE MORE DEPORTATION! ICE OUT OF NJ!
END IMPERIALIST PLUNDER! JUNK VFA! JUNK EDCA!
JUSTICE FOR ALL IMMIGRANTS!

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