CHICAGO, September 14—Members from the communist Progressive Labor Party (PLP) connected with thousands of other workers at the Mexican Independence Day parade today on the city’s southwest side. Distributing hundreds of flyers and copies of CHALLENGE newspaper in a short time, we stood in solidarity with countless immigrant workers and families facing a surge of racist state terror while we offered a fighting, internationalist and anti-capitalist alternative.
The frenzy of attacks by Immigrant and Customs Enforcement (ICE) unleashed on the greater Chicago area recently, under the orders of U.S. Klansman-In-Chief Donald Trump, is spreading fear as they destroy lives. At the same time, however, the state terror is provoking a militant response from many workers committed to repel the rotten attacks on us and our class.
We communists in PLP have a unique role to play in the growing fightback. Instead of relying on nationalism, “lesser evil” politicians, weak reforms or the bosses’ laws and courts, we must be building a mass militant working-class movement under communist leadership. As we fight like hell to protect our class from the current attacks, we must be bold in putting forward communist revolution as the only real solution to the chaos of capitalism and recruit more antiracist fighters to the Party!
Seizing the moment to fight back
Our attendance at the parade today was in line with efforts from the Party in our area to grow our connections with ongoing anti-ICE struggles. Just one day prior, a PLP member joined close to a dozen other workers in an “ICE Watch Bike Ride” through the same neighborhood where the parade was held. Riders monitored for any ICE activity along our route while we spread messages of support and solidarity to workers we passed. Plans were made to continue the rides on a weekly basis at least.
In another nearby neighborhood that has a majority population of Latin workers, another PLP member has been forming walking groups to promote safety among undocumented parents. The prospect of heading out solo for many undocumented workers for work, appointments, or shopping is an intimidating task in the current climate. Many are forced to forgo earning wages for the sake of security, or vice versa. By organizing to head out in groups, we are helping to reduce our risk in a collective way while having an opportunity to spread the politics of PLP among other workers regularly.
Liberal bosses lie, workers die
Deepening our roots and connections with our fellow workers is essential to win more of our class politically to communism and away from the deadly mis-leadership and illusions of the liberal bosses. As the vile Donald Trump administration has ratcheted up its racist hate speech against immigrant and refugee workers, these liberal bosses have cynically seized on the opportunity to pose as the defenders of workers. On a local level, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker like to talk tough at press conferences about how they’re ready to stand up against Trump’s faction of capitalist bosses. But the fact is that they’re just two sides to the same capitalist coin.
We won’t forget that under Brandon Johnson’s watch thousands of migrant workers and their children were overcrowded into filthy shelters, served rotten food, and denied proper medical attention with deadly consequences (see CHALLENGE, 1/31/24). And J.B. Pritzker, whose family wealth reaches into the billions, slashed healthcare coverage programs for undocumented workers in recent state budgets (WTTW, 2/28).
The truth is that capitalists of all countries depend on the higher profits gained from super-exploiting immigrant labor. And all politicians are defenders of capitalism, in one form or another, so we can never expect any of them to stop terrorizing, dividing, deporting and murdering members of our class. The only way to secure a dignified existence for all workers without exploitation is to destroy capitalism and build a communist society where the needs of the working class are primary, never profits.
Hate deportations? Fight for communism!
Our party collective here is optimistic of the struggles we’re currently involved in, and reflective of the hard work that remains to continue to grow the mass fight for communism. We’re confident that the Mexican and U.S. flags waved at parades today will in time be replaced with the red flags of the international working class and its mass PLP, but that all depends on the work we do today, and the weeks, months, years, and decades to come.
If you hate deportations, racism and borders, then you’re ready to fight for a communist world! PLP is your party to defend our class and fight for the egalitarian future all workers need and deserve – Join us!