If there is a single imperative in life, it is that people must eat, clothe and shelter their families to survive. In a global economy, where international capital has supplanted traditional local economies and is free to cross borders without hindrance, human beings must also be free to follow the jobs that accompany capital.
Compounding the drive to immigrate are the environmental cataclysms that have already begun to occur as a result of climate change. Droughts and flooding (and the wars which ensue over dwindling resources) are predicted to be most severe in the developing world. These conditions will cause the displacement of millions of people – in other words; they will be forced to move from their home countries to the increasingly more habitable industrialized countries.
Immigration and immigrant rights have already become the flashpoint civil rights issue of the 21st Century. The divide between documented and undocumented will define the New Jim Crow. But anti-immigrant bigotry will victimize all brown and black people, as well as Muslims, regardless of their immigration status. If we stand together, and resist the urge to scapegoat any particular group for the ills of our society, we will have the combined strength to win decent lives for all.
As a civil rights organization, UEAALDF stands for full and equal rights for all who live, work or study in our nation – documented and undocumented. We are all Americans.