Tenth posted Marcelle Cendrars article, dated 11/11/07
An Open Letter to the Latino Community and Supporters of a “Borderless” U.S.
by Marcelle Cendrars

“An immigrant coming across the border for a job –at present– is not unlike someone at the racetrack betting his last two bucks on a lame longshot. A person who was forced to go to the track ’cause the lead level in his maquiladora home is three thousand times the U.S. standard. ” — The author’s undocumented neighbor

“The U.S. government, once again encouraging vigilante action against migrant workers, has a long history which set up the present circumstances, most recently through NAFTA and direct incentives for its corporations…which are supervising slavery every bit as bad as what went on in the 19th-century South.” — Enrique Davalos

I have a proposal designed to put someone Sane and Sympathetic into the office of the highest executive authority in the state of California.

I’m talking about The Governor in Sacramento being a person who agrees with the following:

“Amnesty –in the form of immediate legalization and a real path to citizenship for the undocumented workforce– represents a threat to capital, since it would give immigrant workers leverage to form unions and use their collective power without fear of retribution. It would also allow for equal status with the rest of the working class, which would cut against the isolation that undocumented immigrants have historically suffered. It is also important to recognize that capitalism needs borders, but workers don’t. Borders are designed to criminalize migration, not stop it.  Open borders for workers would not only make it impossible to criminalize immigrants, they would also end deaths along the border, dangerous smuggling operations, and the separation of families that all occur solely for the sake of profits. It would equalize work and democratize participation, allowing for the increase in wages and working conditions for all workers.”

Italics and boldface above are mine. The paragraph is from the “A New Civil Rights Movement” chapter of NO ONE IS ILLEGAL by Justin Akers Chacon and Mike Davis, a must-read for anyone who thinks the U.S. isn’t repeating Bad History at present, encouraging monumental “mistakes,” crimes against humanity. (1)

Gubernatorial powers include the ability to veto bills from the State Legislature, veto particular items from an appropriations bill (while leaving others intact), grant pardons and commute sentences, and serve as the commander-in-chief of the state militia. He/She also has full membership and voting powers to the Regents of the University of California, and a majority of members on the Regents of UC are appointed by the governor. Oh yes, The Guv can declare a “State of Emergency,” AND, perhaps most important of all, command news coverage virtually at will. (2)

Boldface italics are mine, as they touch upon a priority of mine. I do believe there’s something there for everyone, however.

Enough with being cute. I’m quite serious here. But I’m totally dependent on the reader –whether or not he/she resides in California– getting in touch with me. One can also be Asian-American, African-American or consider themselves “Hispanic,” not Latino, to get involved here. Non-Vigilante Whites are welcome.

As Jesse Jackson, Sr. said in his “Si Se Puede Means ‘We Shall Overcome’” article (3):

“Immigrants of previous generations, including African Americans, should see the new undocumented workers as allies, not threats. They share with African Americans a history of repression, of being subjected to back-breaking, soul deadening work –or to no work at all. They share a history of making a way where there was no way, creating community in often hostile environments, and fighting to carve out a better future for their children.

This new immigrant freedom movement is being embraced by African Americans and today’s movement for peace and social justice. Slowly, the hands that picked the cotton are joining with the hands that pick lettuce, connecting barrios with ghettos, fields and plantations– working together for a more just and open society.”

I’ve tried to reach out to leaders to the Latino community in California first because their potential in the electoral realm is absolutely enormous here, corrupt mainstream Latinos and obstacles to registration notwithstanding.

To date, I’ve had no responses, which has been highly frustrating (considering the historic potential embedded in my Proposal Following A New Paradigm To Put YOUR Governor In Office). And which has led to the writing of this article, this open letter…concerning open borders.

Those who have bought into the Fear Connected With Terrorism threats and/or those who cannot shake the notion that International Solidarity is Pie-In-The-Sky And Dangerous need not apply. Ditto for Whites Must Rule mentality.

For the rest of you, I submit that a short meeting with me in confidence has a good shot at convincing you that The People can not only put someone into the Governor’s seat in California, but that it can be done without spending a penny on advertising.

If that doesn’t intrigue you enough to set up a rendezvous (4), perhaps you’d like to recommend a different use of italics. To counteract the bold-faced lies. All of them.

Special Note: In cases where readers come across this article on a site that doesn’t make use of italics and/or boldface, I recommend direct contact with me so that I can provide the original. They are, obviously, an important element in the article.

Footnotes:
(1) The Julian Cardona photographs in No One Is Illegal: Fighting Racism and State Violence on the U.S.-Mexico Border are gorgeously worthwhile too. It’s a 2006 Haymarket Book out of Chicago, Illinois.
(2) Think of what Abbie Hoffman might have done with this opportunity.
(3) On May 13, 2006, http://www.blacknews.com/pr/overcome101.html.
(4) French-Americans are welcome too, see?

Marcelle Cendrars, Algerian-American activist/freelancer residing in California, can be reached at   bcendra  [AT] yahoo.  com.