[GPCA Updates] Campaign Release: U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE BACKS FULL and IMMEDIATE AMNESTY

[Green Party of California Updates]

For Immediate Release
September 30, 2010
Contact: (714) 273-8394 www.voteforduane.org



GREEN PARTY U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE BACKS
'IMMEDIATE AMNESTY' FOR MILLIONS OF
UNDOCUMENTED WORKERS in U.S.

ANAHEIM, Calif – Duane Roberts, Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate,
supports "immediate amnesty" for "millions of undocumented workers"
living within the United States.

Roberts points out that "so-called 'illegal immigration'" is caused by
"uneven capitalist development between nations" and that politicians
don't address this problem.

"As a longtime defender of immigrant rights, I strongly back the idea of
granting immediate amnesty for the millions of undocumented workers
currently living within the United States. An overwhelming majority of
them work incredibly hard, are law abiding, and make invaluable
contributions to the wealth of this country.

"I don't believe a 'pathway to citizenship' should be a long and
confusing process; nor need it require any form of indentured servitude,
like the McCain/Kennedy bill did. Undocumented workers who have
established residency, haven't committed any violent crimes, and/or are
raising families should be allowed to become citizens.

"By legalizing the estimated 12 million undocumented workers living in
the U.S., many would no longer fear the threat of being deported by
their employers for participating in union organizing drives, strikes,
and other actions to improve their wages and working conditions. This
would reduce their vulnerability to abuse and exploitation.

"But most importantly, legalization would strengthen the bargaining
position of the entire U.S. working class as employers would no longer
have at their disposal a compliant pool of 'immigrant labor' they could
take advantage of to keep wages permanently depressed. The wages of all
workers would rise as more began to assert their rights.

"In addition to this, as wages rose, federal and state governments would
experience an increase in tax revenues. And undocumented workers who had
been previously hired "off the books" would start paying Social
Security, Medicare, and income taxes that weren't being collected before
because employers just pocketed them.

"I personally think it is ridiculous to call undocumented workers
'immigrants' especially since their ancestors had been living on this
continent thousands of years before Christopher Columbus arrived and set
off a European invasion of the Americas that eventually caused the
deaths of upwards of 100 million indigenous peoples.

"Nevertheless the migration of human beings from one locale to another
is a real phenomena and is primarily caused by uneven capitalist
development between nations. People usually don't abruptly pack up their
personal belongings and resettle elsewhere unless they are forced to do
so by compelling economic reasons.

"One major cause of so-called 'illegal immigration' to the U.S. during
the past fifteen years has been the North American Free Trade Agreement,
championed by former Democratic President Bill Clinton, which allowed
big agribusiness consortiums like ConAgra, ADM, and Cargill to literally
flood the Mexican market with cheap corn.

"Since NAFTA was enacted, 2 million people have been displaced from
Mexico's agricultural sector. Many small farmers were driven off the
land because they couldn't compete with corn imported from the U.S. by
agribusiness consortiums who sold it at a price below cost of
production--thanks to billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies.

"Facing bleak prospects, many abandoned the rural communities they grew
up in. Some relocated to cities in Northern Mexico to work in
maquiladoras owned by U.S. and foreign multinational companies; but
others decided it was worth the risk to cross the U.S./Mexico border
with the hope they would find employment in the U.S.

"Instead of addressing the reasons why this is happening, politicians
resort to blaming the victim: they scapegoat undocumented workers and
pass cruel measures to punish them for trying to come here:
double-layered fences are built along the border; and prison-like
detention centers are built to warehouse those who are caught.

"This diverts attention away from the fact the policies these
politicians put into motion are causing this massive migration of human
beings into the U.S. and that agribusiness consortiums who finance their
political campaigns are profiting from the destruction of Mexico's
agricultural sector, which brings poverty and misery to millions.

"In reality, we don't have an 'illegal immigration problem', but a
'capitalism problem'. And as long as we fail to recognize that this is
the problem, then people will continue to suffer. The real solution is
for us to begin laying the groundwork to create a more just and
equitable economic system that will benefit the many and not just the few."

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