Beyond the BS1070 Supreme Court Ruling: “Not even the highest court can turn back a determined people!”

Beyond the BS1070 Supreme Court Ruling:

“Not even the highest court can turn back a determined people!”

By Raúl Alcaraz Ochoa / 25 June 2012

This can’t be said any other way. Our migrant/Latino community is getting crushed. In fact, we are getting stomped on and beaten like a colorful piñata. The piñata is electoral and the more they hit, the more political points are scored—at our expense.

On the surface, the political class wants to make us think they are at war with each other over immigration. When in reality we have a US Supreme Court ruling over BS1070 that is in complete alignment with Republican and Democrat immigration policies of exclusion, exploitation, and police and ICE collaborations.

In the wake of the US Supreme Court ruling, injustice and oppression are upheld once again. The “papers please” section of BS1070 has been upheld. In effect standing in the tradition of white supremacist historical Supreme Court decisions such as Dred Scott v. Sanford of 1857 in which the court ruled that slaves and their descendants were not protected by the Constitution and were not US citizens.

Also, let’s not forget Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) in which the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of state laws requiring racial segregation in public facilities under the doctrine of «separate but equal», or Korematsu v. United States, (1944) where American citizens of Japanese descent could be taken to internment camps and deprived of basic constitutional rights.

Today’s ruling, which shamelessly requires police officers to ask everyone they stop about their immigration status if they think there is “reasonable suspicion” that the person is undocumented, is a direct descendant of the Dred Scott Decision, Plessy v. Furgeson, and Korematsu v. the United States.

Although three other provisions of BS1070 were struck down, the part that promotes a police state of racial profiling and racial discrimination is to be implemented in full force in Arizona. So what’s the good news? There is none. “It could’ve been worse” or “this is a partial victory” are liberal, conformist cop-outs. Partial justice is no justice at all.

In an election year, everything is a strategic, calculated move. The Obama administration, after four years of record numbers of deportations, deaths at the U.S.-Mexico border, homeland security budgets, border militarization resources, detainees at for-profit detention centers, inSecure Communities and 287g programs being implemented nationwide, mixed in with the willful failure to pass the Dream Act and dissing the mythical Comprehensive Immigration Reform, the Obama administration found itself in the shithole when it came to the coveted Latino electorate.

So what does a good ole political strategy do? You give them some crumbs! And you attempt to divide and pacify the most energized and militant wing of the Immigrant Rights Movement. Enter the DREAMers and the DHS announcement of Deferred Action for those 30 years-old and younger who meet specific requirements.

For the past two years, the Dream component of the movement has organized widespread civil disobedience actions throughout the country targeting whatever is most strategic for their goals; the latest target being Obama campaign headquarters. Beyond just trying to appeal to the Latino electorate, there is also a clear attempt by the political class to break-down community and fragment, co-opt and squash a potential rebellion emerging from the migrant grassroots.

Also, this political and economic class needs to extend a racialized permanent underclass living in the shadows without access to education, health care, housing and formal employment. The US needs a constant source of cheap labor. The US Supreme Court decision on BS1070, therefore, is in alignment not only with white supremacist values, but also capitalist ones that prioritize US economic and corporate interests.

As the history of US Supreme Court decisions around slavery and racial discrimination indicate, we cannot expect justice from the courts or judicial system of America.

We need to focus on strategizing, mobilizing, and organizing from below.

Let’s continue to organize and build our base of affected people and allies. The power lies in how much we mobilize and organize. Our community’s fear can be lessened if community organizing and political consciousness-raising is heightened beyond electoral politics.

Change is possible in real and meaningful ways, depending on whether we decide to act and rise up to the historic occasion.

“Not even the highest court can turn back a determined people!”