Subscribe to Workers Vanguard

View archives

	Workers Vanguard No. 1105	10 February 2017

IG Peddles Dems’ Sanctuary Scam

On Thursday, February 2, the CUNY Internationalist Clubs (affiliated with the Internationalist Group [IG]) initiated a speakout at Hunter College, part of the City University of New York (CUNY), calling to “Defend Immigrants, Muslims and the Rights of Us All!” The Spartacist League and New York Spartacus Youth Club participated in the protest, and one of our comrades spoke at the rally. The Internationalist Clubs’ call for the protest included the demands, “Defend sanctuary cities—Make CUNY a ‘sanctuary university’,” while not containing even a word of criticism of New York City mayor Bill de Blasio, the cops or the campus administration. The IG builds illusions that liberal Democratic administrators of the capitalist state can establish “sanctuaries” for immigrants and the oppressed. We print below comrade Max’s speech at the rally.

Trump’s immigration ban is an outrageous attack! We say: Down with the anti-Muslim ban! No deportations! Full citizenship rights for all immigrants!

Thousands of people have taken to the streets to protest the ban, and this is good. However, the main cry has been that the ban is “un-American,” and the Democrats have been heading up these protests to posture as defenders of immigrants. In fact, attacking immigrants is a key part of U.S. imperialism, which both capitalist parties administer. All of the seven countries Trump has targeted have been bombed, invaded or strangled by sanctions under both the Democrats and Republicans, including “Deporter in Chief” Obama. The list was drawn up by Obama. We say: U.S. imperialists get your bloody hands off the world! U.S. immigration policy has always served capitalist interests—from regulating the pool of labor to welcoming counterrevolutionary Cuban gusanos and Nazi butchers, to closing the gates on leftists fleeing U.S.-backed death squads in Latin America. To defend immigrants, students must ally with the working class in the fight to break with all capitalist parties and build a revolutionary workers party that fights for socialist revolution.

Capitalists whip up anti-immigrant bigotry to divide and exploit the workers. Organizing immigrant workers and defending their rights are crucial to revitalizing the labor movement. The unions should champion full citizenship rights for everyone living in this country, and defend all of the oppressed, including women and black people. But the current pro-capitalist union leaders are opposed to this perspective, and they keep the workers chained to their oppressors through the poison of nationalist protectionism and support to the Democratic Party. What is needed is a new, class-struggle leadership of the unions.

The slogans put forward here today by the Internationalist Group reflect the liberal movement politics that must be overcome to build a revolutionary party.

To call for “sanctuary cities” is to promote local governments, the cops and Democrats as defenders of immigrants. De Blasio—“broken-windows de Blasio”—promises his city will be a “sanctuary.” Does anyone here think the NYPD that spies on Muslims and guns down black people and breaks up picket lines will protect immigrants? The state exists to defend the rule of the capitalist class over the working class. The sanctuary designation may slightly impede the cops, but it will not stop them from harassing immigrants or colluding with I.C.E.

In that same vein, the IG pushes illusions that the EU and “fortress Europe” have been a haven for refugees. Now this is a lie. These imperialist powers have caused the mass devastation from which these refugees are fleeing.

Look, to call for CUNY—“Fortress CUNY”—to be a “sanctuary university” is to promote the same illusions, just in miniature. CUNY is a capitalist institution, like all universities under capitalism. The administration oversees the exploitation of campus workers and faculty and the indoctrination of students to serve the capitalist economy and the training of the officers for U.S. imperialism through ROTC. They cannot be looked to to defend immigrants any more than can the campus cops who do their dirty work. We call for: Cops off campus! ROTC and military recruiters off campus!

Unlike the IG and the reformists, we don’t look to the rulers and the capitalist state to defend immigrants and the oppressed. Only the working class has the capacity to lead the struggles against all oppression. Our model is the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.

We are looking for people disgusted with patriotic slogans—who see through the cynical “sanctuary” slogan pushed by the Democrats. We are looking for the revolutionaries. Down with the anti-Muslim ban! Defeat U.S. imperialism through socialist revolution!