IMMIGRATION & FOREIGN POLICY:PARTS OF THE SAME WHOLE

By

Richard S. Dunn

On June 16, 2021 Federal Judge Andrew Hanen ruled against the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) Program, claiming in part that the Obama Administration through Executive Order overstepped its bound, when the Program was initiated. The ruling blocks the Department of Homeland Security from approving any new application; the intent of DACA was to offer protection from deportation for undocumented people who came to the United States as children. Prior to that Ruling, Vice Pres. Kamala Harris speaking at a press conference in Guatemala said: “I want to be clear to folks in this region who are thinking about making that dangerous trek to the United States-Mexico border; do not come. Do not come.” Prior to Kamal Harris’ visit, Amnesty International sent her a letter urging her to discuss human rights issues when she visited Guatemala and Mexico.

The debate regarding immigration reform was increasingly prominent across broadcast and print media during the Trump Administration. The 2020 Presidential Debates had omitted the issue of the connection between foreign policy and immigration issues. Many supporters of immigration reform have been calling for meaningful changes however; what is missing from the discourse is the direct link between the immigration dilemma and US Foreign Policy. That is the source of the problem. The people fleeing the countries of “the region” as Harris puts it are trying to escape wanton gang violence, governmental corruption, forced military recruitment, lawlessness and a complete breakdown of the respective country’s socio-economic System. The pandemic has worsened the economic crisis, widened the poverty gap and have stretched beyond limit an already inadequate health care system.

The corporate media, politicians and even ordinary citizens, have always spoken of how poor these developing countries ( ‘Third World’ ) are; the question needs to be raised as to just how did these countries become so ‘poor,’ steeped in poverty and foreign debt. It is a complex issue due to the socio-historic, socio-economic and political dynamics that shape the problem. After independence, some of these developing countries tried to embark on a path of progressive socio-economic development but; faced fierce resistance from the local capitalist class, former colonial power and multi-national corporations headed by the United States. Further, if we support the premise that economics is the basis of society, then politics must reflect and support that socio-economic system from which it evolved. Political independence did not automatically translate into economic independence, for most of the developing countries. Many leaders of these countries carried on the colonial and misguided policies of their predecessors, on the erroneous belief that this would promote social advancement.

At the same time the colonialists and multinationals installed “puppet” officials who sabotaged any program that would foster progressive social development. Here too the consolidation of independence, suffered a serious blow from internal contradictions and capitalism’s new tactic, the export of capital. In a Paper presented to the 10th annual Third World Conference, Dr. Linus A. Hopkins wrote “ the debt burden of Third World countries has not accumulated overnight. It has accumulated as a result of the decades of ‘unequal exchange’ between these nations and the industrial western nations within the international capitalist economy, an exchange that, historically, has been characterized by a legacy of underdevelopment and dependency for the exploited.” The export of capital through commodities, machinery, technology, licensing agreements, credits and loans by international financial institutions; put the receiving country in nothing short of persistent poverty. Agencies such as the IMF, World Band, IADB and Exim bank among others; create tremendous economic and social pressures on developing countries through draconian lending policies.

Some countries pay as much as 86 percent of their GDP to service foreign debts. Other general requirements such as devaluation of the country’s currency, dismantling of price controls, elimination or relaxation of control on imports and foreign exchange, wage increase ceiling, abolition of subsidies on basic consumer items, cutback on government spending, especially for social programs. Policies such as these prevent a progressive government from pursuing social programs or other developmental projects. Such programs are not encouraged by the home state of the multinationals and they immediately begin a campaign of destabilization, illegal and immoral sanctions, coups and assassinations. The experiences of Nkrumah in Ghana, Lumumba in the Congo, Manley in Jamaica, Allende in Chile, Chavez and Maduro in Venezuela and Aristede in Haiti are only a few examples. Civil unrest reduces the capacity of the productive forces, produces forced migration and ‘brain drain’, significantly lowers wages and increases the level of poverty within the respective country. This works in the interest of the multi-nationals because it guarantees the continuance of cheap labor, unfettered access and control of raw materials and natural resources and, super profits.

The past is just as relevant as the present; the multi-nationals and the international lending agencies, still operate in the developing countries with impunity and disproportionate Agreements. They use their leverage to pressure the respective governments into making Agreements that on the surface seems to alleviate the sufferings but in fact makes it worst. Along with this, corruption by government officials and shortsightedness by trying to borrow one’s way out of poverty, only compounds the problem. The only way to stem the forced migration problem is for the United States to stop supporting the reactionary, genocidal and corrupt military and governments of the developing countries. There needs to be a complete overhaul of the international monetary system that; institute lending policies that are favorable to both parties and, assist in the creation of social development. This overhauling also calls for the rescheduling of foreign debts owed by the developing countries; the enormous amounts owed will never be paid off in the next two or three generations. This is the basis of the scourge of persistent poverty experienced by these countries; the citizenry faced with skyrocketing inflation, reduction in social services, homelessness and political repression will continue to migrate legally or illegally to find respite from such a destructive socio-economic condition.

The progressive forces of these countries also need to organize and agitate to develop a working people’s movement and; assume power to pursue a path of national sovereignty, self-determination and non-capitalist socio-economic development. The resources of the world exists for all humans to use and enjoy however; international capitalism believes that they should have exclusive access and control of it by either not paying for it or; if they do, at the smallest cost to them at the detriment of the owners of said resources. Immigration and foreign policy go hand in hand, they’re interrelated; they can be either complimentary or antagonistic to each other. Approaching the discussion any other way is lopsided and gives only a partial view of the issue - they are parts of the same whole.