Trade & Migration: Exploring the Inter-sections of
Trade & Immigration Policies from Community Perspectives

Thurs (6/28)    ~    1:00-3:00pm    ~    Westin 1404

Root Causes / Push Factors

The neoliberal trade agenda pushed by the Global North, has been responsible for mass displacement of communities in the Global South due to its strategies of:

·         privatization of the public sector, causing:

o  sudden and dramatic increases in cost of living especially basic necessities (healthcare, education, water, electricity etc.)

o      public workers getting laid-off

·         slashing subsidies for local industries in the Global South, causing:

o        increase in the costs of local production, subsequent increase in the price to locals

·         exposing local markets to cheap products/services from the Global North:

o        these are often subsidized by those governments (ex. corn industry in the U.S.)

o        small local producers can’t compete with cheap products from North

o        local producers lose livelihoods, often go into debt

Global North Foreign Policies

International trade policies go hand-in-hand with “domestic” immigration policies as part of a larger foreign policy agenda (forced by the U.S. and the E.U. in particular) to:

·         open and control global markets

o  small businesses, farmers etc. around the world are “eaten up” by large multinational companies from the North (ex. supermarkets, retail outlets, restaurants etc.)

·         control the flow of labor

o        outsourcing and moving production to where there is the cheapest labor

o        “disposing” labor when not needed with guest-worker and other programs

o        repressive immigration policies keep migrant labor fearful and exploitated by employers

U.S. + E.U. = same difference

From NAFTA and Operation Gatekeeper in the U.S. to the Berlusconi-Gadafi (Italy-Libya) agreement, these policies have very similar results:

·         hundreds of miles of walls/fencing along US-Mexico border and Spain (Ceuta/Melilla)-Morocco

·         4000 dead bodies found on US-Mexico border and in seas between W. Africa-Canary Islands

·         increasing border militarization with US Border Patrol and EU “Frontex” border guards

·         more detention facilities, “processing” centers/camps etc.

US “comprehensive immigration reform” and EU’s “managed migration” have similar elements:

·         temporary/guest worker or “circular” migration programs

·         required skill-sets (points system)

·         increased border militarization (more patrol forces, more equipment, more fencing etc.)

To find out more, hear testimonies from survivors of these policies, and engage in discussion with immigrant community organizers from:

• Desis Rising Up & Moving (DRUM)
• Esperanza del Barrio
  
• Fuerza Unida
• Mujeres Unidas y Activas
• others...
  

Trade & Migration:

Exploring the Inter-sections of Trade & Immigration Policies from Community Perspectives

Thurs (6/28)     ~     1:00-3:00pm    ~     Westin 1404