Declaration of solidarity with the Central American Migrant Caravan

PSI Interamerica declares its solidarity with the more than 7,000 people that form the Migrant Caravan. PSI Interamerica supports the right of all to seek assylum and understands that these migrants are international workers.

These migrants have undertaken this journey because of high levels of crime, violence and poverty in their countries of origin. US trade and foreign relations policies have combined with political instability, coups and other organized attacks against the population of these countries to exacerbate these problems to such an extent that making this dangerous and exhausting trip presents itself as the best option. Migrants face criminal gangs, extortion and assaults along the way. State violence and rejection has been the consistent response.

The request for asylum is a basic human right of every individual and it is illegal to reject them at the ports of entry. Recent federal and state anti-immigration laws promoted and approved in the US reflect the regional rise of right wing populism and underlie and complement this violenct state response.

We demand that the migration issue in the region be dealt with as an urgent matter of human dignity, and not as a matter of border patrols and armies. This situation requires the formulation of policies and agreements to protect the rights of migrants that facilitates the free circulation of all people. No-one is illegal! Migrants exist and resist, and therefore we join the caravan’s chorus: “Migrants are not criminals, we are international workers!”

* Declaration of solidarity passed in São Paulo, Brazil, by participants of PSI’s regional education seminar on trade union rights (October 22 – 25th, 2018)