Why We Must Build a Movement to Stop the Criminalization of Working People—By Petitioning Gavin Newsom
Trump guts public benefits in his "One Beautiful Bill", while launching militarized ICE raids on immigrant communities across the country. His all-out assault on working people will only get worse. As he detains and deports greencard holders and even US citizens, it is now clearer than ever that Trump and his oligarch friends will make all of us, regardless of status, a "criminal".
How did we get here? If Trump’s current dystopia is based on the premise of “conquer us all,” it’s only been made possible by decades of the bipartisan governance model: “divide and conquer.” In 1986, Congress passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act, with bipartisan support. One key provision of IRCA was Employer Sanctions which made undocumented immigrants criminals just for working. This law forced undocumented people into low-wage, no-rights labor, creating a criminalized underclass.
Then, the US ruling class played a classic game to wash their hands clean: let the citizens and immigrants blame each other as exploitation of the underclass drags down wages and labor protections for all American workers. As American citizen workers blame degrading conditions on the “job-stealing” immigrants, the 1% gets richer off the profits.
This infighting has made the working class weak and divided, laying the foundation for Trump to come in and blatantly attack the 99% — citizens and immigrants alike. Now the criminal underclass that once included only undocumented workers has expanded to those with legal status. Even birthright citizenship is now threatened, and public goods like Medicaid and SSI are slashed to fund ICE.
Amid the desperation, California Governor Gavin Newsom has been the most vocal in openly challenging Trump’s policies and calling them un-American. He even said, “Arrest me,” in response to threats for defending undocumented people
Newsom's resistance to Trump's deportation program has made him a frontrunner as potential Democratic presidential challenger in 2028. But if Newsom wants to beat the Trump agenda, they cannot make the same mistakes as before of dividing Americans by allowing employer sanctions to continue. We therefore call on people across the country to join us in urging Gavin Newsom to stand up to the criminalization and division of working people and ensure equal rights for all workers. With a mass nationwide call uniting both immigrants and citizens, we can stop Trump and the oligarchs' attacks on us all!
Join us in applauding Governor Newsom for his resistance to Trump and urge him to
Continuing demanding an end to the ICE raids, arrests, and deportations without due process, and to fearmongering.
Demand Trump stop the criminalization of working people by ending the Employer Sanction provision of IRCA (‘86)
And ensure equal rights for all workers.
Comments
Hello