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Thursday, February 13, 2025

How Mass Deportation Harms All Working People

 


By Andrew Moss  

Knoxville Sun  

Jan 10, 2025 - Donald Trump pledged to start deporting undocumented migrants “on day one” of his administration, and that day is quickly approaching.  

If Trump’s working-class voters believe that deporting 13.3 million people will somehow better their economic lives, many will soon realize that mass deportation harms all working people, not just migrants, and will worsen a growing, oppressive inequality.  

Firstly, consider the anticipated labor shortages in agriculture and construction. Almost three-quarters of agricultural workers are immigrants, with 40 percent of them being undocumented. About one-fifth of the construction workforce is also undocumented. Since these undocumented immigrants represent such a significant share of employment in these critical industries, their deportation will lead to severe labor shortages, likely driving up food prices and impeding efforts to increase housing supply.  

Additionally, consider the expected decline in tax revenues and contributions to Medicare and Social Security. Undocumented workers do pay taxes and contribute to Medicare and Social Security; their removal would result in billions in lost local, state, and federal tax revenues (for instance, $76.1 billion in 2022 alone) alongside billions more in lost contributions to Medicare and Social Security ($28.3 billion annually).  

A mass deportation initiative would cost taxpayers enormous amounts to manage the process of rounding up, detaining, and deporting 13.3 million individuals: estimates suggest $88 billion a year if one million people are deported annually or $315 billion if all 13.3 million are deported in a single year, according to the American Immigration Council. (The Council notes that the former sum could be better utilized over 10 years to build 2.9 million new homes or for other essential social investments).  

Someone will have to finance the deportation of millions. If Republican lawmakers get their way, it won’t be the billionaires and multimillionaires who have aligned themselves with Trump. Donald Trump is committed to making permanent the individual tax cuts that, much like the corporate and individual cuts he signed in 2017, favor the wealthiest in the nation. Extending these cuts would add $4.6 trillion to the federal deficit over several years, according to Congressional Budget Office projections. Thus, the enormous expense of mass deportation necessitates cuts elsewhere to fund it—and the burden will inevitably rest on lower-income Americans.  

Elon Musk (net worth: $416.8 billion) and Vivek Ramaswamy (net worth: $800 million to $1 billion) have been recruited by Trump to find ways to trim the federal budget, claiming that $500 billion could be cut. One can only speculate about the financial juggling required to fund such an expensive deportation initiative while simultaneously cutting hundreds of billions in tax revenues.  

However, the proposed cuts to Medicaid, the largest single source of health coverage in the nation that primarily serves low-income Americans, are all too real. Proposed by House Republicans and promoted by the Heritage Foundation in its Project 2025, these cuts could range from $459 billion to $742 billion over several years, severely underfunding or eliminating health services for many individuals (Medicaid covers 72 million people overall).  

When you connect all the dots—the vast financial implications of mass deportation, the revenue losses from expelling millions of earners and from tax cuts benefiting the wealthy, and the potential cuts to essential social and health services—you begin to understand the substantial harm that deportation will inflict on all working people and the nation as a whole.  

Much of this damage is fueled by racially based scapegoating, a powerful divide-and-rule tactic that pits individuals against each other and groups against each other, corrupting society as it normalizes cruelty towards the most vulnerable populations. This strategy works for a simple reason: fear sells.  

Yet fear and financial figures do not create the complete picture. Alongside advocacy groups and sanctuary jurisdictions (cities, counties, and states) that uphold and promote immigrants’ rights, the vital role of unions emerges in affirming the solidarity of all workers, regardless of their immigration status. In my hometown of Los Angeles, where immigrants make up a substantial portion of the workforce, visionary and courageous union leaders in the 1990s recognized that immigrants’ rights and workers’ rights were inseparable. They began organizing around this core idea, transforming the political landscape of the city and ultimately influencing national immigration policies through the AFL-CIO.  

We now stand on the brink of a renewed large-scale struggle for the dignity, rights, and well-being of all working people in this country. Much depends on the creativity, energy, and discipline brought to this struggle—as well as the success in fostering a shared vision of solidarity and mutual support among workers, regardless of their background or status.  

Andrew Moss, syndicated by PeaceVoice, writes on politics, labor, and nonviolence from Los Angeles. He is an emeritus professor (Nonviolence Studies, English) from California State University.

Thursday, February 6, 2025

In Pittsburgh, National Protest against Trump's Fascism Directs Anger at Fetterman


The Democratic senator, who has sometimes crossed party lines to back parts of the president’s agenda, faced criticism from protestors outside of his Downtown Pittsburgh field office Wednesday.


By Quinn Glabicki

Public Source

February 5, 2025 - Scores of Pittsburghers gathered in front of the Federal Building, Downtown, on Wednesday to protest the early days of the second Trump administration, the influence of tech mogul billionaire Elon Musk, and the role of Pennsylvania’s U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, who has embraced parts of Trump’s agenda.

Protestors criticized the role and influence of tech billionaire Elon Musk within the Trump administration at a protest in Pittsburgh Wednesday. 

They also opposed the genocide in Gaza

At half past noon, organizer Kali McLaughlin, who is affiliated with Indivisible, the progressive grassroots campaign organizing against President Donald Trump’s agenda, addressed the crowd through a megaphone aimed at the senator’s closed local office. 

“Fetterman, the time for action is now!” McLaughlin said. “We will be heard. You will hear us. We will fight for America. Will you?” McLaughlin laid out a list of demands, amounting to one theme: blanket opposition. “No cooperation with Trump’s power grab.”

“There is no excuse for Senate Democrats to be confirming any of Trump’s nominees for any agency while this power grab continues. Just vote no every time!”

As McLaughlin spoke, in Washington D.C., Fetterman voted yes to confirm Trump’s pick for Housing and Urban Development secretary, drawing the ire of fellow Democrats and local protestors alike. 

“Fetterman! Fetterman! Do your job!” The crowd of about 80 then chanted in unison, as passing cars honked in support.

Organizer Kali McLaughlin addressed the crowd in front of U.S. Sen John Fetterman’s closed Pittsburgh field office Wednesday: “We will be heard,” McLaughlin demanded. “You will hear us. We will fight for America. Will you?”

Fetterman voted no, however, on Trump nominee Russell Vought to be director of the Office of Management and Budget, whose nomination advanced to a final vote Wednesday.

The demonstration was the first significant organized opposition to the fast-moving Trump administration to emerge in Pittsburgh since Trump’s inauguration. Part of a national protest push, it took on a local spin by also focusing on Fetterman, whose political career began when he was mayor of Braddock.

Fetterman’s office did not provide requested comment.

Monet Thornton found Wednesday’s protest on Reddit. A federal worker, Thornton said they are personally affected by the uncertainty surrounding federal grants, and went unpaid for the several days while the Trump administration briefly froze federal funding. 

Volunteers gathered signatures for Not on Our Dime, a campaign seeking to amend Pittsburgh’s Home Rule Charter and divest city funds from “governments engaged in genocide or apartheid.”

As the crowd rallied, volunteers gathered signatures for Not on Our Dime, a campaign seeking to amend Pittsburgh’s Home Rule Charter and divest city funds from “governments engaged in genocide or apartheid.” A day earlier, on Tuesday, Trump proposed that the United States occupy Gaza.

Organizer Sydney W., who declined to give a last name, described the people gathered Wednesday as part of a broad coalition of concerned citizens who “see the danger” in the conservative Heritage Foundation’s policy blueprint, Project 2025, and the president’s recent executive orders.

“We want this stopped,” the organizer said. “We want our state representatives to fight against this with the power we know they have.”

The movement began on Reddit and spread online on Discord, Instagram and Facebook. Similar protests took place in Harrisburg and Philadelphia and across the U.S. Wednesday.

Kate Wenc stands with a pride flag outside of the Federal Building in downtown Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

Kate Wenc, a student at Duquesne University, stood wrapped in a Pride flag in front of the Federal Building.  “I believe in the mission,” Wenc said. “We should be fighting back against Trump’s agenda against immigrants and LGBTQ people.”

Quinn Glabicki is the environment and climate reporter at PublicSource and a Report for America corps member. He can be reached at quinn@publicsource.org and on Instagram and X @quinnglabicki.

Monday, January 13, 2025

What Threats Face Pro-Palestine Activists as Trump Returns?

 

Jan 8, 2025 - As President Biden greenlights another $8 billion in weapons to Israel in his last days in office and Secretary Blinken gives a parting New York Times interview in which he denies that a genocide is taking place in Gaza, many pro-Palestine activists are anxiously counting down the days until “Genocide Joe” and his crew exit the White House. But what will activists have to contend with under the Trump presidency?

Donald Trump proved his pro-Israel agenda in his first term, by moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, supporting West Bank settlements, recognizing the Golan Heights as part of Israel, pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal and enacting the Abraham Accords to normalize relations between Israel and Arab states, while disregarding the plight of Palestinians. Recently, Trump has said that the U.S. should let Israel “finish the job,” warned that there will be “all hell to pay” if the hostages aren’t released by the time he takes office, and threatened to blow Iran to smithereens.

Trump has signalled his intentions this time around by the people he has selected for key positions. Mike Huckabee, his pick for U.S. ambassador to Israel, is a religious fanatic who doesn’t think Israeli settlements are illegal and says “There is no such thing as a West Bank. It’s Judea and Samaria [the territory’s biblical name, revived in Israeli propaganda].” He even insists there is no such thing as a Palestinian. Elise Stefanik, Trump’s pick for U.S. ambassador to the UN, used her position in Congress to stifle free speech on college campuses and advocates deporting pro-Palestinian protesters who have student visas.

What about Congress? While the 118th Congress was overwhelmingly pro-Israel, the new one, with both the Senate and the House under Republican control, will be even more aggressively biased. Members want to pass a host of horrific bills that will further cement U.S. ties to the Israeli government, punish international actors that dare try to hold Israel accountable, and repress the domestic movement for Palestinian rights. This legislation includes a bill that equates criticism of Israel with anti-semitism, a bill that gives the Treasury Department the power to investigate non-profit groups for links to “terrorism” and then shut them down, a bill to sanction the International Criminal Court for issuing an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu, a bill to make permanent the U.S. ban on funding the relief agency UNRWA, and a bill to cancel trade agreements with South Africa because of its genocide case against Israel in the International Court of Justice.


And of course, we can’t leave out the challenges posed by three powerful forces: AIPAC, Christian Zionists and military contractors. Best known is the lobby group AIPAC, which used its financial muscle in the recent elections to knock out two of the most pro-Palestinian members of Congress, Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman, leaving others terrified of becoming AIPAC targets. Lesser known but enormously powerful are the tens of millions of Christian Zionists, who are driven by the radical belief that Israel is key to Jesus’ return to Earth after a bloody final battle of Armageddon in which only those who accept Jesus as their savior will survive. Christian Zionists—already numerous in Congress, the White House and even the military—will be emboldened by Trump.

The third powerful lobby group are the military contractors, which has more lobbyists than members of Congress. Thanks to the $18 billion that Congress allocated for Israel in 2024, weapons stocks have soared over the past year, dramatically outperforming the major stock indexes.

But there are countervailing forces as well. The American public has become more and more sympathetic to Palestinians. A November opinion poll showed that, despite the pro-Israel bias of our government and corporate media, most Americans (63 percent) want a ceasefire and 55 percent think the U.S. should not provide unrestricted financial and military assistance to the Israeli government.

This is especially true among young people and among Democrats. And with a Republican in the White House, more Democrats in positions of power should be willing to oppose Israel’s actions since they will no longer be defying their own party’s president. And it’s not just Democrats. Many Trump supporters oppose U.S. involvement in overseas wars, and Trump himself, on the campaign trail, repeatedly claimed that he wants to bring peace to the Middle East.

Worldwide, more countries are not only voting for a ceasefire at the UN, but taking concrete measures to hold Israel accountable. The long list of countries and parties that have either submitted or announced their intention to join South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice include Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ireland, Jordan, Libya, Maldives, Mexico, Namibia, Nicaragua, Palestine, Spain, Türkiye and the Arab League. Countries that have either banned, limited or announced their intention to embargo arms to Israel include Italy, Spain, the UK, Canada, Belgium, The Netherlands, Türkiye, Russia and China.In the coming year, the Palestine solidarity movement must find and expand the cracks in the pro-Israel war machine. It must strengthen the spine of Democrats who live in fear of AIPAC and reach out to Republicans who oppose funding foreign conflicts. The same arguments many Republicans make about defunding Ukraine must be applied to Israel. Activists must expand campaigns against companies supporting Israel’s genocide, as well as efforts at the state, city, labor, university, faith-based and sectoral level to condemn Israel’s actions and promote divestment. The recent resolution by the American Historical Association condemning “scholasticide” is a good example.

While activists are bracing for a torrent of Trump policies that will create even more global and domestic chaos, including increased attacks on pro-Palestine organizations and individuals, the U.S. movement must be as resolute as the Palestinians themselves, who have demonstrated that, no matter what Israel does to destroy them, they remain determined to resist. The year 2025, with Donald Trump in the White House, will not be a time for despair or retreating in fear, but a time for action.Medea Benjamin