by Bill Gallegos

It has begun.

Donald Trump promised during this campaign and after he was “elected” to undertake a program of massive ethnic cleansing, that is the deportation of more than 11 million undocumented persons, the overwhelming majority of whom would be Mexicano-Latino. The Administration may have been testing the waters this past week when ICE conducted a series of sweeps, arrests and deportations in a number of cities throughout the US. Here in Los Angeles; more than 150 were arrested by La Migra. Many were parents of US born children, leaving families torn apart without a moment’s notice.  These were not “criminals,” “trash” people as Trump has called them,  but ordinary people desperate to survive in a capitalist global economy whose leaders have created policies that produce wealth for a few and destitution for the many.

It is critically important for all progressives and the Left to understand what is involved with this ethnic cleansing.  If we do a low estimate of the family members of the deportados who could have their loved ones rounded up, incarcerated and deported, this will impact at least thirty million people in the US. Think then about the impact this will have on the social and economic infrastructure of the affected communities, an infrastructure which relies largely on the labor and consuming power of those who would be effected if this horrendous promise is carried out. Think then about the impact on our public schools if tens of thousands or more of those children are either themselves forced to leave the US or have one of both of their parents deported. Our public school system relies on monies from “average daily attendance”. The public education system is already deeply under-funded. What would be left if the ethnic cleansing is actually carried out?  Consider also the taxes paid by undocumented people, a significant percentage of which funds the Social Security system. Citizens of all races – including the white male workers to whom Trump appeals – could face less secure lives.

Of course, in the final analysis, we should be opposed and ready to challenge the massive deportations promised by the Trump Administration because it is morally repulsive and a complete violation of human rights. But we should also keep in mind the broad range of impacts that could devastate our communities and our society if we allow this fascist policy to move forward. We must all be prepared to do whatever we can to defend our sisters and brothers — our children and seniors — from harassment, intimidation, repression, arrest and deportation. It is not just for them, it is for all of us.

Indeed we must be prepared to put our bodies on the line in the spirit of the great Spanish Revolutionary La Pasionaria: “¡¡No Pasaran”!!