San Diego workers and youth speak out in defense of refugees at US-Mexico border
By
our reporters
4 December 2018
The San Ysidro port, the busiest in the world, with 63,000 people crossing every day, has been closed after migrants were tear gassed by the Border Patrol and US military. The border itself has been fortified with barbed wire, military grade vehicles line the wall, and CBP officers armed in riot gear at all times patrol the perimeter side-by-side US troops.
Migrants have been faced with repression by US security forces, and the Mexican government is collaborating with the Trump administration in bolstering its police on the border and creating deportation centers. The mayor of Tijuana echoes Trump’s xenophobia, calling the caravan an “invasion” and leading on fascistic protests in high end areas of Tijuana that call for the removal of “unwanted foreigners.”
The working class tells a very different story of sympathy for the migrants and anger over the government response. WSWS reporters spoke to workers passing through to the US at the San Ysidro port of entry.
Danielle has lived her whole life in San Diego and has witnessed the increasing militarization of the border. “It’s a shame that we have two sister cities that are so stressed out,” she said.” I turned 18 in 2000 and I’ve seen the transition since 9/11. The border resembles a prison more and more. When they shut the border, I don’t think it’s to keep people out, but to keep people in.”
She continued: “Our government says it defends human rights but they clearly don’t care about the 85,000 children who died in Yemen. They want us fighting each other so we don’t unite against the real enemy.”
In passing, many workers said they never knew when the border was…