The following letters are from the Summer Project in Texas organized about the Mexico-U.S. border and anti-immigrant racism (see CHALLENGE, 7/24).
This year marks the fifth summer project I attended, and it was by far the most sobering, transformative, and politically enriching one yet. I had both the misfortune and opportunity of being an eyewitness to the bosses’ monstrous border crisis, and the suffering they’ve inflictied on our working class brothers and sisters, when I volunteered at  a migrant shelter. I was awestruck and inspired by the resilience of my fellow workers who made the incredibly dangerous and arduous journey from all corners of the continent, from Haiti, Guatemala, Honduras, and  Venezuela.
It was a crash course in becoming a better communist and developing leadership. I got to see the dangers of liberalism’s push for rainbow fascism up close and personal at a rally at Carrizo Springs. Selling CHALLENGE in Laredo, just steps away from the border, was a reminder of the importance of our work for CHALLENGE newspaper, not only a weapon against the bosses’ toxic ideology but as  a tool for sharpening ourselves, as we struggle for the best political line that puts forth the truest reflection of the working class. The eagerness from workers to receive our message reaffirmed this, and helped me overcome my cynicism and further built my confidence in the working class.
Best of all, the time I spent with my comrades growing, singing, laughing, learning, and sharing our ideas and visions for a communist future These moments were glimmers of hope for me, and provided a much needed contrast to the tragedies I witnessed in Texas. This trip taught me that only workers armed with communist politics and values have the power to turn the dark nights we’re currently living in into brighter days. Long live communism!
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I recently participated in the summer project and it has left me inspired to build the Party. We were hosted by comrades based in Texas. Their cohesion made me realize I ought to take greater advantage of my capacity to be bolder in my basebuilding. The impetus to build the Party also came as a result of impressions left from the various study groups and experiences in working collectively.
During our stay, we learned about the history of inter-imperialist rivalry that has led to the border crisis, as well as about locally relevant issues such as abusive labor practices and the socioeconomic effects of NAFTA. We also hosted a forum discussing how liberal fascism poses a greater threat to workers than blatant right wing racism. It was interesting to learn concrete information about how exactly liberal misleaders such as then-U.S.-president Obama and Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador have paved the way for anti-migrant policies. The necessity to build PLP is clear. If we don’t, the bosses and their minions will continue to exploit workers’ feelings of hopelessness and to redirect any sense of spirit towards dead ends such as electoral politics.
Exercises in working collectively demonstrated that we have progress to make, but successful application of Party principles is our greatest tool in resolving conflict and staying unified. Activities such as collectively cooking is one of the highlights of any summer project, as it is the taste of communism. Working collectively, however, can have its drawbacks since we are conditioned against it by this society.
In collectively producing a leaflet while on this trip, we ran into one such conflict, where a political criticism was raised, but in a non-productive way. Emotions ran high for all involved, but through diligent application of criticism/self-criticism we were able to reach a resolution. We learned more about how to struggle with each other. My main take-away was that I need to try to take greater leadership. Having witnessed a migrant shelter and having gained all this confidence in the line, it now feels more like a duty of pride, already filling me with excitement for next year’s May Day!
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I am a high school student from Brooklyn. On the Summer Project, we focused on the undocumented immigrants crossing the border. The most impactful experience I had was going to volunteer at a resource center that gave undocumented immigrants a shelter and food until their buses came and took them to wherever their family or friends were in the United States. I speak only some Spanish, but still attempted to make conversation.
I met a father and his son coming from Honduras. The boy told me all about his interests in school and his admiration for making things from scratch. He took a bracelet that he made off of his wrist and put it onto mine. This was one of the most amazing and heartbreaking feelings I have ever experienced. It shows how dehumanized this 13-year-old boy was during the process of seeking asylum. It took only 15 minutes of a genuine interest in getting to know him for him to feel as though he owed something to me.
Seeing stories about how terribly these innocent people are treated is less impactful than just seen through a T.V or phone screen. When meeting them in person, you become so much more empathetic with them and more angry with the system for treating people so horribly. The Summer Project was so enlightening and I am so glad I went on it. It has motivated me to continue to fight for the international working class!
*****
PL’ers and comrades came from all parts, LA, Chicago, NY, NJ, and Puerto Rico to visit a migrant shelter to give aid to our fellow workers who made the perilous journey of crossing the border.
Our fellow workers made the journey from Honduras, Haiti, Venezuela, and even the Democratic Republic of Congo. Despite the brutish conditions our brothers and sisters had to face to cross the U.S border, they were still able to be resolute, along with smiles and playfulness. Comrades dove in to help families at the shelter with whatever was needed without hesitation. Handing out toiletries, a change of clothes, using their electronics to allow families to communicate with their loved ones, and the list could go on. The relief work provided by comrades was necessary, but we also clearly recognize that the conditions that the families endured, many refugees, and migrants all over the world is no accident. And that these same conditions will continue as long as the decrepit system of capitalism exists.
The liberal bosses narrow down the conversation of the border crisis as more “human treatment” of migrants coming into the U.S, but ultimately will have them become mindless cogs numb to super exploitation. The Republican wing of U.S bosses are overt in their racism, and sexism towards our fellow workers, but favor U.S companies reaping maximum profit and working us to bone abroad. We as communists, saw first hand, in the migrant shelters the direct effect of U.S imperialism, and the violence it imposes upon our class. Making us flee from homes, and leave all we know behind. But the working class will answer the bosses’ violence with revolutionary violence, smashing borders, sexism, racism, imperialism, and put an end to capitalism. Only a communist society can give peace and empowerment to the working class.
*****
While attempting to distribute food and water to immigrant workers in a Greyhound bus station, we were denied total access to awaiting passengers and were told to exit the premises immediately. A comrade stalled the manager of the station and its security guard while we modified our plans. Comrades less fluent in Spanish were accompanied by a stronger fluent Spanish speaker. We decided to give out food and leaflets with CHALLENGE. We effectively realized our plans and managed to talk to many people around the bus station.
 A Black man that I had given literature to returned and began a healthy debate. We briefly discussed topics on racism, ethics, moral values, economics, incarceration and communism. He seemed insistent on talking with me on how successful Trump has been as a president. We debated about this for twenty minutes. He claimed he was not a Trump supporter. He said, “Mexicans don’t have the right to receive benefits when they move here.” He claimed, “hard work should be praised, not dependency.”  He also stated that workers from other countries should feel happy that they could work at U.S. factories or businesses because they make more money than working for local institutions.
What I got from this interaction is that workers are willing to exchange ideas and debate solutions. He did not flinch when he learned that the leaflet and newspaper was communist. I was a bit surprised that he seemed comfortable talking with a communist like me. This goes to show that even our expectations may be on the side of error at times. 
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As one of our comrades pointed out, there were posters saying “keep families together” and “stop the separation” but not enough posters saying shut the detention centers not end racist deportation. To make matters worse the center is placed near a racist Japanese internment camp. But none of the protesters mentioned this. Instead they wanted to sing This Little Light of Mine to “bring hope into the children’s hearts.” Hearing people older than me think this was a solution was nothing but disturbing.
But by the help of some rebel protesters screaming “WHY” and the PLP, we stopped the nonsense and turned the protest from standing around and holding hands to actually pointing out the problem: capitalism. The rally showed that even though most of the protesters were liberals, many of them agreed with the fact that this system isn’t working. We sang a pro-communist song called The Internationale. Almost all the protesters gathered and cheered and of many of them were following our chants.
Not even thirty minutes passed when guards began lining up, making sure we wouldn’t march to the gates. They began towing away the protesters’ cars. We were a small group. The fact that they needed to intimidate us with their force showed that they were scared. It showed me that we might have a long way to go before we start some real change, but we are not too far from it.
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