Race, Immigration, Trump, and Sanders

                                          SIM rally outside Statehouse

Immigration, Race, Trump, and Senator Sanders

There are about eleven million undocumented workers in the USA. Some are from Ireland and are found mostly in Boston and New York City. Some are from Mexico and a large number of immigrants are found in California and Texas. Most working people, whether we have papers or not, are hard working and civil to our neighbors. There is criminal element or Lumpenproletariat is so small that racists like Donald Trump have to remind us of its existence.

There are too many people to be deported without mahor disruption of the economic and social fabric of this coutnry.

Donald Trump is now leading the Republican Party’s polls for the nominee for its presidential candidate. This is not surprising given the number of racists such as the Tea Partiers, Ku Kluxers, and racist others in the Republican Party. What is a surprise is that not one of the supposedly “moderate” Republicans have challenged the racist rants of Donald Trump. For that matter not one of the Democratic Party nominees have challenged Donald Trump’s racism.

Both Democratic contenders, Clinton and Sanders, have remained silent on the issues of race and immigration. Jill Stein running for the nomination of the Green Party US has made statements against mass incarcerations of and police brutality against low income people, especially young Black men.

President Obama has set up a program, for kids brought as youngsters to the USA, to gain some temporary legal status. The program will likely end when President Obama leaves office as it was established with Executive Order. Neither Clinton nor Sanders has made it known what they intend to do with this program.

In Massachusetts there are also proposed programs to help undocumented students such as no in-state tuition for Massachusetts residents regardless of status. There was a rally and hearing at the Statehouse on July 15, 2015 sponsored by Student Immigrant Movement.

                            Tuition Hearings : Courtesy of Italo Fini

The lack of support or even public statements by candidates and other politicians is especially disappointing as Senator Sanders has called himself a “socialist” and he has gone to Selma in the old Civil Rights movement. Former Secretary of State Clinton is known for her opportunism and I really don’t expect to see any courageous principled stands from her.

Now is the time for the so called leaders to oppose Donald Trump’s racism. His rants are setting the environment for race hatred acts as allegedly perpetrated by Dylan Roof in South Carolina.

Senator Sander’s supporters with whom I have spoken do not know what his positions on race and immigration are. His supporters just seem to parrot the same ineffectual and tired line that Senator Sanders was an activist in the old Civil Rights movement.

At one time I though Clarence Thomas would move to the left, but that time never came.