Communique of the IMA-US National Political Gathering

The U.S. empire is in a strategic decline, wracked by domestic crisis while engaging in unwinnable wars and costly war preparations across large parts of the world. Daily life for the people in the U.S. is steadily worsening: elites claim the economy is booming as they multiply their already massive wealth, while the majority of people struggle to get by, faced with meager job opportunities and burdened with debt. At the same time as social services are shrinking and democratic rights are eroded, the Democrat-led U.S. and its allies use seemingly unlimited resources to fight a bloody war in Ukraine, implement a genocide in Palestine and make aggressive moves towards a catastrophic war with China in the Pacific.

 

These overseas interventions are unpopular with the American people who want to see their government address serious problems at home rather than fight wars abroad. Both the Republican and Democratic parties cynically channel domestic discontent into hatred and fear mongering directed at migrants and refugees – many of whom have been forcibly displaced by long-term U.S. military and economic intervention in their homelands. This alarming, widespread anti-migrant sentiment represents nothing short of fascism on the rise. 

 

Kamala Harris’ campaign promises to hire more border patrol agents and crack down on “illegal immigration” with no mention of legalization or protection for migrants, making it clear that the Democratic party is not standing against this fascist current but actually propelling it forward. 

 

In this context, IMA USA gathered grassroots migrant organizations in Chicago to discuss the grave challenges facing the migrants movement and to unite on strategies for the years ahead as the DNC took place miles away. Organizations presented their local work to defend and organize migrant communities including the fights for asylum seekers and trafficked migrant workers, struggles against wage theft and exploitation in restaurant, fishing and health sectors, legislative advocacy for Temporary Protected Status, solidarity with migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, and organizing against US militarization as a root cause of forced migration. 

 

IMA USA must be strengthened as a national alliance to confront and beat back the anti-migrant attacks with the power of organized solidarity. It won’t be enough to respond with only localized, disparate efforts: strong coordination, sharing of strategies, joint political education and shared campaigns that unite the work of many organizations will be needed to advance the cause of migrants in such a critical time. 

 

The attending organizations raised the Grassroots Migrants Agenda as an alternative to the anti-migrant policies being advanced in the U.S. during the 2024 elections:

End forced migration and imperialist war!

Stop the repression of migrants!

Rights to livelihood, health and housing!

Legalization for all!