|
| Collectif travaillant sur l'Amérique Latine et contre la ZLÉA |
Introduction
The No One Is Illegal Campaign brings together Montreal-area activists in defense of the rights of immigrants, refugees and First Nations Peoples. Confronting a colonial system built on the dispossession and genocide of indigenous peoples and racist anti- immigrat laws, we maintain that there are no illegal human beings, only inhumane laws and illegal states. The very basis of labeling entire communities as illegal aliens, undocumented, or status Indian aims to create an apartheid system of who has the right to dignity and livelihood and who does not and we reject any governments right to grant status.
Our campaign asserts a clear link between capitalist globalization and the displacement of peoples from the Third World, who are fleeing persecution, poverty and oppression. (According to the UN, 150 million people move across national borders every year). This migration is caused by the same forces of colonialism which has caused the displacement of indigenous peoples.
Canadian immigration policies serve to consolidate Fortress North America, using free trade to open borders to capital, while exploiting the people whose free movement it regulates. We reject the War on Terrorism and its racist ramifications such as Bill C-36, C-42, C-11 and the Smart Border Action Plan (including the Safe Third Country Agreement) and reject those apologists who claim that such policies make North Amerika more safe.
We struggle for the right for peoples to maintain their livelihoods and resist displacement. National governments cannot determine who is allowed to move and under what conditions. As such, we reject reformist Approaches to "improving" Canada's immigration system that accept the colonial control and administration of the territory and that rely on distinctions between "good immigrants" and "bad" or "undesirable" ones. We also support those who allow for the safe passage of migrants and refugees by underground railroads and reject the criminalization of them. We aim to expose and educate people about the links between the "War on Terrorism" abroad and "Fortress North America" at home from an anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist, anti-patriarchal perspective, while asserting a vision for open borders and social/economic justice.
We recognize that struggles for self-determination & for the free movement of people against colonial exploitation are led by the communities who fight on the frontlines. Our campaign lends tangible support to these struggles in our capacity as allies. In doing so, we seek to contribute to building a global movement for justice and building links between communities of resistance worldwide.
Our campaign is in public confronataion with the Canadian state, denouncing and taking action to combat racial profiling, detention and deportation, police and law enforcement brutality, exploitation and wage-slave conditions.
We demand that immigrants, refugees and undocumented persons currently in detention be released, including those but not limited to those who were picked up in connection with the September 11 attacks .
We demand that governments provide status for all nonstatus peoples and instate a moratorium on deportations for those fleeing persecution and poverty.
We demand recognition of the right to free movement as well as the recognition of Indigenous sovereignty.
No One Is Illegal is part of a larger coalition, Solidarity Across Borders, which comes together in support of four principal demands:
1) The regularization of all non-status persons;
2) An end to deportations;
3) An end to the detention of migrants, immigrants and refugees; 4) The abolition of security certificates.
Moreover, we support the specific demands of the various groups that comprise Solidarity Across Borders, including the various sanctuary cases in Montreal.
Groups comprising Solidarity Across Borders: The Coalition Against the Deportation of Palestinian Refugees, The Pakistani Action Committee Against Racial Profiling, The Action Committee of Non-Status Algerians, The No One is Illegal Collective (Montreal), Colombianos Unidos, The Justice Coalition for Adil Charkaoui, The Support Committee for Basque Political Prisoners, The Kurdish Institute of Montreal, Block the Empire, NEFAC, South Asian Women's Community Center, No One is Illegal-Montreal and other individuals.
CONTACT US by e-mail at: noii-mtl@resist.ca
|
|
|
