Enlaces News #9 (May 2005)

Concrete Steps Toward An Immigrant Summit for the Americas
By Zulema Montero

Last January 26–31, the Fifth World Social Forum was held in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil. Under the slogan “Another World Is Possible,” the event was attended by more that 155,000 citizens from 151 countries. In a crowded program of proposed workshops, Enlace América’s “Concrete Steps Toward an Immigrant Summit for the Americas,” stood out as a fresh initiative.

The workshop panel was made up of immigrants from Ecuador, Mexico, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Colombia, and other countries. A common theme of all of their reports was that “immigration is not a voluntary act but the consequence of the prevailing economic models of poor countries.” Every day more and more people find it necessary to immigrate to developed countries in hopes of finding work and better living conditions. The marginal lives of the majority of Latin Americans force them to exercise the most basic of human rights: the right to live. The panel members also emphasized the alarming increase in violence and the violation of the rights of thousands of immigrants on the borders and in the countries of transit. They stated that for many the hope for a better life has been frustrated by violent acts of repression, detentions, expulsions, deportations, and even murder carried out by border patrols, police, and criminals.

The current laws and policies governing immigration and refugee status in host countries are restrictive, hostile, and very often discriminatory and/or xenophobic. Meanwhile, much of the immigrant labor force suffers from exploitation and poor working conditions without the right to basic social benefits. Even the right to an education and health care in host countries is predicated upon having the proper documentation.

In the face of such serious problems, panelists and participants alike agreed on the urgent necessity for the hemisphere’s immigrant rights organizations’ leadership to have a summit meeting. The principal objective would be “to promote the strengthening, training, and unified efforts of organizations comprised of immigrants, refugees, and their families in the Americas.”

During the workshop, the following three questions were posed to participants:

1. Would you be interested in a hemisphere- wide immigrant summit?

3. What steps would each organization take to make sure such a summit took place?

4. How would you take advantage of such a process to strengthen organizations in your countries of origin?

Participants answered the first question with a resounding yes, adding that the summit should include the participation of refugees and displaced persons. They all agreed that it would be a historic act for immigrants to create their own space for denouncing the violation of their rights, and to generate concrete proposals involving all who see themselves affected by immigration issues, without losing sight of the fundamental objective: the unity and integration of organizations that advocate for the restoration of immigrant rights.

In response to the second question, participants thought that local and regional meetings should be held in order to identify, contextualize, and visualize the issues. The goal would be to generate appropriate public policies that address the causes of immigration, making hope and the defense of life possible for all. It was deemed necessary to work with a global vision, that is, to keep in mind the problems of those affected in their countries of origin, those who are in transit, and those already in a host country. Participants also pointed out that the economic clout of the remittances sent by immigrants to their families in their home countries should be translated into political power.

With respect to the third question, participants said that they would coordinate activities among themselves, as well as with NGOs, progressive politicians, churches and other institutions in order to bring attention to the immigration problem. They would participate in national and regional debates concerning the introduction of humane and thoughtful changes to immigration laws, and the creation and ratification of international treaties favorable to immigrants. Underscoring the necessity to foster communication about this effort, participants proposed that a web page be created as a key tool for establishing the summit.

The workshop, which was attended by both Latin American and European immigrants, generated a great deal of enthusiasm for an Immigrant Summit for the Americas.

The global objectives and criteria for participation have yet to be established. Right now it is incumbent upon every one of us—as leaders of immigrant communities—to take on the challenge of making the summit a reality. Only with our direct participation will an international debate generate immigration policies capable of stopping the violation of our fundamental rights, as well as sustainable economic development that will, in the final analysis, render the necessity to immigrate a demographically insignificant issue.

 

Zulema Montero is a Bolivian immigrant currently residing in Argentina. She is a lawyer and graduate of the Universidad Mayor Real y Pontificia de San Francisco Xavier de Chuquisaca, Bolivia, and has done postgraduate work in civil law at the Universidad Autónoma Juan Misael Saracho de Bolivia. She has participated in several human rights forums and while living in Bolivia she was an activist member of the Permanent Assembly of Human Rights in her country and served as president of the Filial de Yacuiba-Tarija, Bolivia.