North American immigrant issues
Mexican immigrants seek asylum amidst growing social inequality and crime
By Clodomiro Puentes, 20 June 2018
The majority are forced to make the long and risky journey to seek political asylum in the US, due to cartel-related crime and violence in Mexico.
The United States of America: Land of internment camps
By Eric London, 20 June 2018
The attack on immigrants and democratic rights is of urgent importance to the entire working class.
Trump administration planning massive expansion of jails for immigrant children
By Eric London, 19 June 2018
The administration is building new facilities to house tens of thousands of immigrant children while refusing to process asylum applicants at the US-Mexico border.
“Something must be done quickly”
Child psychology expert warns of life-changing damage from child-parent separation of immigrants
By Eric London, 19 June 2018
Fulbright Scholar Chris Fradkin told the WSWS: “These children, if they are not reunited with their parents in the next week, will suffer because of this for the rest of their lives.”
Five die fleeing US immigration police as children spend Father’s Day in jail
By Eric London, 18 June 2018
The five immigrants died in a car crash in south Texas, while seven others were wounded in what police called “good police work.”
Video shows Border Patrol vehicle fleeing after striking Native American man
By Norisa Diaz, 18 June 2018
The Tohono O’odham are seen as a stone in the shoe of Washington as its members have historically moved freely across the current US-Mexico border.
Abolish Washington’s immigration Gestapo! Stop the persecution of immigrants!
By Eric London, 16 June 2018
The abolition of the agencies responsible for mass deportations, workplace raids and the separation of families is a life or death question for the working class.
Thousands across US rally against Trump administration’s attacks on immigrant families
By Dan Conway, 16 June 2018
Rallies took place across the country on Thursday and Friday as reports spread of the breakup of immigrant families and imprisonment of children.
Administration preparing to hold immigrants in tent camps
Outcry mounts against Trump policy of forced separation of refugee children and parents
By Norisa Diaz and Patrick Martin, 15 June 2018
A report by McClatchy News this week revealed the administration plans to deal with the overflow by warehousing children in tent camps on military bases.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services unveils new initiative targeting naturalized citizens
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 14 June 2018
The goal of the new office is to remove the citizenship rights of naturalized immigrants who “cheated” on their applications in civil court proceedings, while also prosecuting them on the charge of criminal fraud.
Trump administration rescinds right to asylum for victims of gangs and domestic violence
By Eric London, 12 June 2018
The decision is a legal travesty and will result in the rejection of thousands of asylum applications.
Two refugee suicides follow Trump’s “zero-tolerance” order
By Patrick Martin, 11 June 2018
The deaths are a direct consequence of the attack on refugees and immigrants ordered by the White House.
Undocumented worker in ICE custody after delivering food to Army base in New York City
By Mark Ferretti and Philip Guelpa, 11 June 2018
While Pablo Villavicencio was granted an emergency stay of deportation by a judge over the weekend he still faces the prospect of being deported in less than six weeks.
Trump administration to send 1,600 ICE detainees to federal prisons
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 9 June 2018
The government is carrying out the first large scale transfer of immigrants to federal detention facilities under the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy.
Gestapo-style immigration raids in Ohio: An urgent warning to the working class
By Eric London, 8 June 2018
State repression against immigrant workers is an attack on the democratic rights of the entire working class.
“I saw officers with assault rifles, dogs and helicopters everywhere”
Mass immigration raids shatter Ohio communities
By Eric London and Will Morrow, 7 June 2018
Tuesday’s Gestapo-style raid is a warning to the entire working class.
Trump administration holds mass trials of immigrants under “Zero Tolerance” policy
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 5 June 2018
Leaked photograph reveals on-going mass trials of immigrants.
US Border Patrol execution of undocumented Guatemalan woman sparks anger and nationwide protests
By Alec Andersen, 4 June 2018
Claudia Gomez Gonzalez, 19, was summarily executed by a Border Patrol agent in the border town of Rio Bravo near Laredo, Texas, on May 23.
Migrant children, increasingly separated from their parents, fill US detention centers
By Trévon Austin, 1 June 2018
The spike in child detentions is the result of a new policy announced last month to criminally prosecute all undocumented immigrants crossing the southern border.
Leading Democratic activists accidentally share photos of immigrants detained under Obama administration
By Genevieve Leigh, 29 May 2018
Former Obama administration officials shared 2014 pictures of immigrant children sleeping in cages in immigration prisons in a hypocritical attempt to discredit Trump for his anti-immigrant policies.
ICE carries out mass immigration raids across US Midwest
By George Gallanis, 29 May 2018
The arrests are part of the Trump administration’s escalating attack on immigrant workers.
US Border Patrol agent executes Guatemalan woman
By Alec Andersen, 28 May 2018
The summary execution of Claudia Gonzalez comes amid a sharp escalation in the Trump administration’s campaign of terror against immigrant communities.
US government admits to losing track of nearly 1,500 immigrant children in sponsor homes
By Kevin Mitchell, 28 May 2018
Officials insisted that they were not “legally responsible” for the missing children.
The nightmare inside America’s child immigrant jails
By Eric London, 25 May 2018
An ACLU report details widespread rape, beatings and neglect by prison guards in America’s immigration jails.
White House press release on MS-13 backs Trump’s labeling immigrants as “violent animals”
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 23 May 2018
The White House press release continues the administration’s policy of dehumanizing immigrants.
Border Patrol agent detains two US citizens in Montana for speaking Spanish
By Alec Andersen, 22 May 2018
The incident comes as the Trump administration is actively encouraging right wing and fascistic elements, repeatedly referring to immigrants from Latin America as animals, rapists and smugglers.
US plans to detain minors on military bases as Trump calls immigrants “animals”
By Bill Van Auken, 18 May 2018
A savage new immigration policy will result in tens of thousands of children being separated from their parents and sent to detention centers.
United States Border Patrol neglects counting migrant deaths
By Trévon Austin, 16 May 2018
For the last 20 years, the agency has consistently underreported the number of people who die attempting to cross the US-Mexico border.
Stop the raids on immigrants! For a socialist policy of open borders!
By Kevin Mitchell—SEP candidate for House of Representatives (51st District and California), 15 May 2018
This statement was released by Kevin Mitchell in response to the May 8th raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement that led to the arrest of Alberto Alonzo Hernandez in National City, California.
ICE officials break into home in San Diego to detain immigrant worker in front of his five children
By Kevin Martinez and Genevieve Leigh, 9 May 2018
A San Diego immigrant was forcibly detained by armed ICE officials after they broke into his home Tuesday afternoon as his five children looked on.
US to separate all families charged with illegal border crossing
By Patrick Martin, 8 May 2018
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a new initiative to prosecute everyone detained as an illegal border crosser and to separate children from their parents.
In barbaric treatment of Central American refugees
US denies right to asylum
By Eric London, 3 May 2018
The decision to block nearly 200 Central American immigrants from applying for asylum marks a turning point in the attack on democratic rights.
Caravan immigrants speak out
On the spot coverage from Tijuana refugee camp
By Kevin Martinez and Clodomiro Puentes, 3 May 2018
The 200 refugees have been held up in a makeshift camp in Tijuana on the Mexican side of the US border
Democrats maintain silence over persecution of Central American immigrants at US-Mexico border
By Genevieve Leigh, 2 May 2018
The delay in processing the immigrants is a flagrant violation of international laws and conventions guaranteeing the right to political asylum.
Amidst complete silence from Democrats
Migrants seeking asylum are turned away for the second day at US-Mexico border
By Genevieve Leigh, 1 May 2018
In defiance of international law, the Trump administration has turned away hundreds of Central American refugees at the US Mexico border in South San Diego, California.
Trump administration turns away immigrant caravan requesting asylum at US-Mexico border
By Eric London, 30 April 2018
The administration responded to the arrival of the asylum seekers with threats of prosecution and indefinite detention.
US Supreme Court hears arguments on Trump’s anti-Muslim travel ban
By Will Morrow, 26 April 2018
Hawaii is challenging Trump's travel ban, which bars citizens of Somalia, Libya, Iran, Yemen, Syria, North Korea and many Venezuelans from traveling to the United States.
Seven hundred children separated from their families at US-Mexico border since October
By Kevin Martinez, 26 April 2018
Besides separating children from their parents, the Trump administration has begun deporting immigrants married to US citizens.
US Border Patrol agent who shot teenager dead acquitted of murder
By Genevieve Leigh, 25 April 2018
Lonnie Swartz was found not guilty of second-degree murder for the slaying of an unarmed Mexican teenager through the border fence in 2012.
2.3 million evictions across the US in 2016
By Shelley Connor, 23 April 2018
The database found a rate of 4 evictions per minute, underscoring the heightening housing crisis in the United States.
US Supreme Court strikes down part of deportation statute
By Kevin Martinez, 19 April 2018
In a five to four vote, the court ruled that statutory language passed with overwhelming Democratic and Republican support was unconstitutionally vague.
Democratic, Republican governors deploy National Guard to US-Mexico border
By Alec Anderson, 16 April 2018
4,000 National Guard soldiers are being deployed as the Trump administration is reforming the immigration court system to speed up deportations.
Oppose California Democratic Governor Jerry Brown’s national guard deployment!
Statement of Socialist Equality Party Senate and Congressional candidates
By David Moore and Kevin Mitchell, 12 April 2018
Democratic Governor Jerry Brown announced he was sending 400 guardsmen to support Trump’s anti-immigrant militarization of the border.
Trump orders indefinite detention of immigrants at border as troop deployment looms
By Eric London, 7 April 2018
A memo published late Friday calls for the allocation of “all legally available resources to construct, operate, control, or modify… facilities to detain aliens.”
Trump administration announces National Guard deployment to US-Mexico border
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan and Norisa Diaz, 5 April 2018
The troop mobilization is the latest measure in an escalating assault on immigrants and democratic rights.
Trump proposes to deploy troops to US-Mexico border
By Eric London, 4 April 2018
The deployment of the military on US soil to arrest or deter immigrants raises the specter of martial law and violates the basic democratic principle of posse comitatus.
Immigrant mother seeks sanctuary from deportation in New York City church
By Josh Varlin, 3 April 2018
Some 40 immigrants are publicly taking sanctuary in US churches to avoid deportation, and no doubt many more are doing so in secret.
Trump gives Liberian immigrants a year to leave or face deportation
By Kevin Martinez, 2 April 2018
The White House’s ending of Deferred Enforced Departure will affect 4,000 Liberians who have lived in the US for nearly two decades.
Democrats green-light Trump’s escalating war on immigrants
By Eric London, 31 March 2018
Amongst other measures, the Trump administration plans to block immigrants who have used social programs from receiving legal status.
ICE arrests wrongly convicted Chicago man released after 20 years in prison
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 31 March 2018
Ricardo Rodriguez, wrongfully convicted for the 1995 murder of a homeless man, was finally freed after 20 years behind bars, only to be immediately taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
ICE uses Facebook data to locate and track suspects
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 29 March 2018
A report in the Intercept documents the extensive use of data derived from social media to pursue immigrants.
Trump administration to add citizenship question to US census
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 29 March 2018
Given its virulent anti-immigration bigotry, the attempt by the administration to frame this move as a simple matter of common sense or voting rights, is preposterous.
African immigrants report grave abuses at West Texas detention center
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan and Norisa Diaz, 26 March 2018
Around 80 immigrant men have been subjected to horrific physical abuses, alleged hate crimes, and sexual abuse, according to a report recently cited by the Intercept.
Democrats drop DACA recipients from budget talks
By Patrick Martin, 20 March 2018
The action is only the latest betrayal of immigrants by the capitalist politicians who pretend to sympathize with them.
Farm worker parents of six children die in car crash while fleeing ICE agents
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 16 March 2018
The tragic deaths of Santo Hilario Garcia and Marcelina Garcia Profecto are the outcome of the Trump administration’s immigration policy in action.
Trump visits border wall prototypes in California to “pick the right one”
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 14 March 2018
Trump’s first visit to California as president sparked protests and came in the context of an intensification of the anti-immigrant policies of the administration.
“On top of taking my family, they are branded as criminals”
Video of Border Patrol agents dragging mother away from children sparks outrage
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan and Clodomiro Puentes, 10 March 2018
Perla Morales Luna had stepped out with her three daughters to pay their rent last weekend when she was suddenly grabbed and dragged away by federal agents.
Justice department files suit against California “sanctuary” laws
By Patrick Martin, 8 March 2018
US Attorney General Jeff Sessions travelled to Sacramento to deliver a vitriolic attack on immigrants.
US Border Patrol uses pretext of “human trafficking” to separate immigrant children from parents
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 7 March 2018
The Department of Homeland Security is using a legal pretext to separate children from their parents so the parents can be jailed.
Impoverished California parents arrested, charged with raising children in substandard conditions
By Dan Conway, 6 March 2018
By all indications, the only crime committed by the two homeless parents was raising their children while extremely poor.
Davino Watson, US citizen wrongfully detained by ICE, calls for the defense of immigrants facing deportation
By Nick Barrickman, 5 March 2018
Watson, a naturalized US citizen, was detained by ICE agents in 2008 after having been arrested for a minor offense.
Special needs New York student imprisoned over Facebook posting
By Jason Melanovski, 3 March 2018
Several dozen students across the US have been swept up in a hysterical law and order crackdown since the Parkland school shooting.
ICE carries out mass immigration roundups in Northern California
By Alec Andersen, 1 March 2018
Since Sunday, dozens of ICE agents have conducted broad sweeps of immigrant communities, knocking on doors and arresting those who were unable to produce proper immigration documents.
Media, Democrats silent as US Supreme Court rules immigrants can be indefinitely detained
By Eric London, 28 February 2018
The decision sets up the pseudo-legal framework for the expansion of immigrant internment camps.
Trump’s reign of terror on California immigrants
By Eric London, 27 February 2018
The Democratic Party is allowing immigration officials to round up hundreds of thousands of people while focusing all its energy on its anti-Russia campaign.
US immigration service quietly removes “nation of immigrants” from its mission statement
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 26 February 2018
Anticipating protests, the White House declared that the change in the mission statement did not originate from the President.
A law unto themselves: US Border Patrol expands use of warrantless searches
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 23 February 2018
The US Border Patrol has been given full authority to push the margins of the Fourth Amendment, carrying out warrantless searches and seizures far beyond the borders.
Trump administration pursues inhumane policy of separating migrant children from parents
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 21 February 2018
The systematic separating of children of undocumented immigrants from their parents is part of a conscious policy to “discourage border crossings.”
ICE arrests 212 immigrants, raids 122 businesses in Los Angeles area
By Evan Blake, 19 February 2018
The raids across seven counties are meant to instill fear within immigrant communities and stifle opposition to the fascistic policies of the Trump administration.
Report details psychological and health impact of deportation on children
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 17 February 2018
According to the medical journal Frontiers in Pediatrics, fear of deportation causes large scale socio-psychological trauma among immigrant children.
“This is a national health emergency”
WSWS interviews Fulbright scholar Chris Fradkin on impact of mass deportations
By our reporters, 17 February 2018
Fradkin authored an article in the journal Frontiers in Pediatrics titled “Fear of massive deportations in the United States: Social implications on deprived pediatric communities.”
US judges issue temporary stays of deportations for Christian Indonesians
By Tim Avery, 17 February 2018
Federal courts temporarily stayed deportations for ethnic Chinese Christians who face discrimination and persecution in Indonesia.
Danger of mass deportations grows as US Senate refuses to protect immigrant youth
By Eric London, 16 February 2018
The entire framework of the immigration debate has a right-wing, anti-democratic character.
Deportation of New York City immigrant rights activist delayed as ICE crackdown continues
By Daniel de Vries, 16 February 2018
Ravi Ragbir, the executive director of the New Sanctuary Coalition, is one of several prominent activists snatched up by ICE amid an expanding wave of detentions and deportations.
Democrats back punitive immigration plan as Senate vote looms
By Eric London, 15 February 2018
The framework of the immigration debate is far to the right of any public discussion on the subject since Congress imposed racial quotas in the 1920s.
US Congress begins debate on milestone anti-immigrant legislation
By Eric London, 13 February 2018
Immigrants could wish for no worse group of people to determine their fates than a Congress controlled by the corporations and the military-intelligence agencies.
ICE arrests immigrant at asylum interview in San Francisco
By our reporter, 13 February 2018
The unprecedented arrest of Omer Abdelmaed, who escaped torture in Sudan, is a dangerous sign that immigration police are operating as an extra-legal force.
The nightmare reality for immigrants across US in 2018
By Eric London, 12 February 2018
In recent weeks, immigration agents and police have waged war in working class neighborhoods across America, tearing immigrants from their families and friends.
Democrats and Republicans pass budget to prepare US for war
By Eric London, 10 February 2018
The Democratic Party provided the necessary votes to allocate $1.4 trillion for the military.
Students and workers denounce bipartisan attacks on immigrants
By Anthony del Olmo, 9 February 2018
The International Youth and Students for Social Equality has held meetings on the defense of immigrants at several US universities.
US Senate Democrats agree to massive boost in military spending
By Josh Varlin, 8 February 2018
The bipartisan budget plan demonstrates that both big business parties agree on military escalation and further attacks on immigrants' rights.
Trump’s chief of staff mocks young immigrants as “afraid” and “lazy” as DACA deadline approaches
By Eric London, 7 February 2018
The climate in Washington ahead of Thursday’s budget deadline gives a sense of the right-wing framework of whatever immigration agreement the Democrats and Republicans make.
ICE agents arrest Kansas chemistry professor who was taking his daughter to school
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 7 February 2018
The scope of the administration’s brutal immigration policies continues to widen as stay orders become increasingly out of reach for blue and white collar workers.
Before budget deadline Thursday, Senate Democrats and Republicans prepare reactionary “border security” bill
By Patrick Martin, 6 February 2018
A new federal shutdown could begin Thursday midnight, with further deadlines looming on the debt ceiling and the expiration of DACA protection for young immigrants.
ICE conducts 77 workplace raids in Northern California
By Evan Blake, 5 February 2018
The wide scale of the workplace raids could signal the start of an anticipated crackdown across the entire region, threatening over 1,500 with arrest and deportation.
US Border Patrol vilify DACA recipients, linking them to human smuggling
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 2 February 2018
The US Border Patrol emphasized the DACA status of two young men arrested over recent incidents in the San Diego area.
Trump unveils sweeping attack on immigrants in reform proposal
By Eric London, 30 January 2018
The proposal will cut legal immigration by 22 million over several decades while providing the weakest protections for DACA recipients.
A socialist strategy is needed to defend immigrants!
By the International Youth and Students for Social Equality, 27 January 2018
The ongoing negotiations in Washington over DACA and TPS prove that the defense of immigrants requires a break with the Democrats and a turn to the working class.
In budget talks, Senate Democrats abandon immigrant Dreamers threatened with deportation
By Niles Niemuth, 26 January 2018
The Democrats have used the plight of the DACA recipients to pose as defenders of immigrants while shifting ever closer to the Trump administration’s racist immigration policies.
Nine “No More Deaths” volunteers face prosecution for attempting to aid immigrants
By Meenakshi Jagadeesan, 26 January 2018
The prosecutions come in the immediate aftermath of a report by the group detailing the Border Patrol’s destruction of water jugs left for immigrants in the desert.
Detroit protest against planned deportation of Albanian immigrant
By Will Morrow, 25 January 2018
Ded Rranxburgaj has taken refuge in a Detroit church in a desperate effort to prevent his deportation scheduled for today.
Volunteer arrested for giving food and water to immigrants along US-Mexico border
By Will Morrow, 24 January 2018
The arrest is a blatant act of retaliation against No More Deaths, coming a few hours after it released footage of agents sabotaging humanitarian water supplies.
Political lessons from the sham US government shutdown
By Eric London, 24 January 2018
The spineless character of the Democrats’ supposed defense of immigrant youth stands in stark contrast to the party’s furious efforts to prosecute the anti-Russia campaign.
Wave of immigrant arrests, deportations in Michigan
By Will Morrow, 23 January 2018
The attacks are part of a broader escalation of Trump’s anti-immigrant crackdown on immigrants and undocumented workers across the country.
Immigration agents destroy humanitarian water supplies along US-Mexico border
By Will Morrow, 20 January 2018
The actions of border agents are the logical outcome of the bipartisan policy to deter immigrants from reaching the United States.
Massive raids threatened against immigrants in California
By Bill Van Auken, 19 January 2018
Plans have been revealed to pour immigration agents from all over the country into Northern California cities to round up at least 1,500 undocumented immigrants.
Deportation of 30-year US resident from Detroit sparks outrage
By Kathleen Martin, 17 January 2018
Jorge Garcia, a resident of metro Detroit for three decades, was deported to Mexico by ICE agents on Martin Luther King Day on the orders of federal immigration officials.
After Trump’s racist outburst, Democrats plead for anti-immigrant “compromise” with White House
By Niles Niemuth and Barry Grey, 15 January 2018
Trump has responded to the Democrats’ mixture of servility and phony outrage by doubling down on his demands for curbs on immigration.
Trump’s racist comments trigger international condemnation
By James Cogan, 13 January 2018
Officials of the Trump administration have been left to make desperate attempts to contain the diplomatic fallout.
Trump’s racist diatribe against “shithole countries” exposes bipartisan conspiracy against immigrants
By Barry Grey, 12 January 2018
Trump’s outburst came as an embarrassment to the Democrats, who over the past week have rushed to reach a deal with the White House that would further militarize the border and expand the crackdown on immigrants.
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