NEW YORK CITY, January 30–Tonight, the National Writers Union held a forum where volunteers reported on their experience at the Mexican/U.S. border as part of the New Sanctuary Caravan project, to stand in solidarity with workers who have traveled thousands of miles in a caravan from Central America, fleeing poverty and violence. These national borders are one of the great evils of capitalism. The capitalist bosses travel freely around the world seeking profits and destroying the lives of workers.
Attending the forum were union and immigration activists, journalists, teachers, and retired workers of all ages, including members and friends of the Progressive Labor Party. Two of the speakers were members of the National Writers Union, a local of the United Auto Workers (UAW), which has organized other UAW locals to provide money and volunteers for this project.
 “The meeting between U.S. volunteers and the fleeing migrants has been transformative,” said one audience member, himself a volunteer, praising the New Sanctuary Coalition and El Otro Lado for providing food, shelter, legal aide, staff, and space in Tijuana, while building international solidarity with the slogan of “no borders.” However, he added, “there’s a need for more than defensive action, more than aid. We need more bold action, more political leadership.” To follow up this person’s point we need communist leadership that fights for a world run by the working class.
He then told how refugees living in one shelter were ordered by Mexican police to leave or be ejected by force. When they refused to leave, volunteers went and stood in front of the shelter. The police retreated. A nice example of working class power.
The thousands who have been flocking to the border directly contradict Trump and his supporters’ racist characterization of immigrants as “criminals.” People are outraged at the plight of migrants, who are stopped at the border, then forced to wait weeks, even months, before they’re allowed to cross and apply for asylum.
One refugee, a woman in a shelter, told a volunteer that she fled from her home, after a gang member threatened to kill her and her children if she didn’t continue paying “rent.” Desperate, she joined the caravan leaving her children behind, not realizing the asylum process could take years before she would see them again.
A doctor in the audience linked the border crisis to current U.S. government efforts to replace the president of Venezuela with a right-wing leader. Guaido, the right wing leader, is a puppet of U.S. imperialism and the corrupt President Maduro is a stooge of Chinese and Russian imperialism. Workers need to reject both (See editorial, page 2).
“All my patients are undocumented,” she said. “We need to see this situation as part of a long history of U.S. imperialism forcing people to flee.”  Most current refugees are from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, countries with a long history of repressive regimes supported by the U.S.
Another person reminded listeners that restrictive immigration policies are a “bi-partisan” effort.  Greatly expanding the size of the Border Patrol, building walls, and increasing spending for border security began under Democratic President Clinton.
The biggest victory of organizing support for the humanitarian crisis is the potential to change mass consciousness among millions of workers. The UAW, with 40,000 members in this region, is committing thousands of dollars to support volunteers. Other activists are organizing to get Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) out of NY Courts as well as to provide money, vans, and medical relief. PLP will continue to organize in our unions, community organizations, schools, and workplaces to develop and transform mass class-consciousness into a working class political force with the power to smash all borders with communist revolution