Immigration has exposed a chasm between the left and the broader working class. Many Marxists defend “open borders”, while the ‘progressive’ spectrum opposes all expulsions of the undocumented on moral grounds. There is little daylight between the positions of the Democratic Party, mainstream media, globalist-funded NGOs, and leftists. They often portray immigration restrictions as white supremacist and xenophobic, rather than attempts to limit capital’s excesses.
Yet opinion polls reveal that over 70% the working class (including Latinos and African Americans) support legal deportations and closing the border due to perceived job and wage loss, crime, and social upheaval in their neighborhoods. Donald Trump harnessed this popular frustration, further polarizing the battle lines over deportation and immigration.
It is time for a re-evaluation of how leftists understand and advocate a working-class perspective on this issue that doesn’t ignore their true material interests and capital’s role in provoking the crisis.
Dustin Guastella is Director of Operations for Teamsters Local 623 in Philadelphia and a research associate at the Center for Working-Class Politics.
