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The recent series of violent marches in Chile against economic refugees, mainly from Venezuela, is the end product of a four-year anti-immigrant campaign whipped up by the right-wing government of the countrys billionaire president, Sebastian Piera. The most serious incidents occurred September 25 when a mob of 5,000 marched through the northern port city of Iquique. By the end of the day, the mob lit a large bonfire in the middle of a square and burnt the Venezuelans documents, prams, toys, clothes, tents and whatever other little possessions they had.

Based on reports, not one arrest was made even though there was a real danger of asylum seekers being lynched. The events indict the capitalist state, which has sanctioned and fostered the expressions of national chauvinism and xenophobia for electoral purposes.

That at a certain point fascist and ultra-nationalist dregs took the lead is obvious. Yet in the throng were also state officials. It has come to light that involved in the march were figures such as the mayor of Colchane, the director of a private school, and the government-appointed director of the Iquique Free Trade Zone, Felipe Hbner Valdivieso. More were surely lurking in the crowd.

Earlier in September, the government announced it would start expelling so-called illegal migrants on the basis of a new Migration Law enacted in April that facilitates deportations.

The Piera administration had already deported 321 refugees this year and intended to carry out 1,500 more deportations before the United Nations intervened to urge their suspension. This is because human rights and migration advocates revealed that Department of Immigration and the PDI carried out mass raids on immigrants, launched mass arrests without warrants, held them incommunicado, denied them legal representation and proceeded to expel them en masse disregarding constitutional norms and guarantees, including due process.

The Chilean government must immediately stop these collective expulsions of immigrants, as they have the right to an individual assessment of their cases, the UN office for Human Rights in South America stated.

Deportations cannot be carried out in a summary manner, but require an individual assessment, taking into account the humanitarian considerations, added Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, Felipe Gonzlez Morales.

Only the day before the march, Carabinero officers violently evicted 100 refugee families from Plaza Brasil, a public square in Iquique, on the grounds that their makeshift camp represented a health risk.

In announcing the reactivation of evictions, Interior Minister Rodrigo Delgado cynically remarked that it was not permitted to use public spaces for leisure and recreational purposes to set up temporary housing.

Several thousand undocumented Venezuelans, Haitians, Colombians, Peruvians and Bolivians who have entered through Chiles increasingly militarized borders have been stranded in Iquique and Aricathe northernmost town bordering Perufor months. Homeless, destitute and denied government assistance, theyve had to set up donated tents on public squares, on the beach or on barricaded streets without the most rudimentary amenities. The camp in Plaza Brasil had been occupied since 2020.

On Friday September 24, cops started to tear down our tents and here we were, standing on a corner, looking to see what we could grab, where we could spend the night with our children. Because we really have nowhere to sleep, we have nowhere to stay, Venezuelan refugee Mariana Contreras told El Ciudadano.

We witnessed the beating of minors and pregnant women, wrote social and human rights groups in a communiqu that called for the guarantee of refugee rights that the Piera government has brazenly trampled underfoot. In contrast to the Carabineros velvet glove approach towards Saturdays marchers, up to 14 asylum seekers were detained.

Aided by the media monopolies Grupo Copesa and El Mercurio, with their inflated and salacious reports of supposed migrant crime waves, drug trafficking and delinquency, the Piera government is attempting to recreate the same foul political atmosphere that brought it to power with the support of the extreme right in 2018. Piera has calculated that by dehumanizing migrantsthe poorest and most vulnerable section of the working class and oppressedhe may be able to increase his diminishing chances of winning the November presidential election.

During the last election cycle, right-wing and parliamentary left candidates ran on a platform calling for restrictions on migrant intakes, particularly excluding nationals from poverty-stricken Haiti and Venezuela. Piera accused migrants of importing evils like delinquency, drug trafficking and organized crime.

The outgoing government of Socialist Party president Michelle Bachelet set the stage for this anti-immigrant crackdown with a draft immigration bill that purportedly sought to update Chiles decades-old migration law, but in reality focused on strengthening border security.

The fact is that the Haitian migrants and refugees detoured into Chile in 2016 and 2017an estimated 150,000 Haitians arrived during this periodbecause their destination of choice, the US, was closed off by the resumption of mass deportations by the Obama administration, which only escalated under Trump.

Once in power, Piera put his program into practice with two executive decrees that particularly targeted Venezuelans and Haitians who were confronting a worsening economic and political situation caused primarily by Washingtons decades-long imperialist meddling.

The first decree ended the system that had previously allowed Haitians to go from being tourists to regular migrants once they obtained a job, and then to seek family reunifications. Now Haitians had to obtain a maximum 90-day tourist visa before entering the country and show bank statements, a criminal record check and a hotel reservation or notarized letter of invitation. Family reunification applications were limited to 10,000 and had a duration of 12 months, making a mockery of the concept. The calculated objective was to make conditions so unbearable and discriminatory that Haitians would leave.

The second decree affected the Venezuelan exodus. Piera unveiled his Democratic Responsibility Visa with anti-communist rhetoric directed against the bourgeois nationalist regime of President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas. Yet the purpose of this visa was also to stem the influx of Venezuelans by requiring a visa before entry for a 12-month stay, renewable once.

To put the issue into perspective, there were an estimated 489,000 migrants in 2017, increasing to 1.3 million in 2018; 1.45 million in 2019 and 1.46 million in 2020. In four years, migrants went from 2.65 percent of the population to roughly seven percent, but their numbers have remained stagnant since. Along with the anti-immigration policies, the 2019 mass anti-capitalist movement and the pandemic ground regular migration to a halt.

Migration nonetheless continued but through precarious and vulnerable irregular entries. Between January 2018 and January 2021, there were over 35,400 entries through unauthorized crossing points. In the first six months of this year this number increased to 23,675.

It is these desperate people, many of whom have travelled thousands of miles through the Amazon jungle and Andean plateau just to reach irregular border crossings into Chile, who are targeted in this cynical political exercise.

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Behind the right-wing, anti-immigrant marches in Chile - WSWS

THE most recent comment by Senator Ted Cruz about the ongoing crisis on the US border with Mexico says it all. He has been a long-term critic of the Biden administration whom he accuses of failing to enforce US immigration laws there. But the Texan lawmaker has now gone further. He is quoted as saying the latest development involving more than 10,000 Haitians camping under the Del Rio International Bridge, after illegally entering the US, is the most horrific thing Ive ever seen.

This situation is now reported to have eased as some of these migrants have apparently been moved elsewhere in the US while others have been sent back to Haiti. But what has puzzled many people is why Haitians in their thousands have turned up at the US/Mexican border, travelling through Colombia and Central American countries rather than trying to reach the US through the neighbouring Bahamas. The answer doubtless lies in their calculation that under the Biden presidency the US is now more welcoming to migrants so that the overland route is easier for direct entry.

As the focus has suddenly switched to our archipelago with some 900 Haitian migrants heading for Bahamian shores having been intercepted at sea and then held in detention in Inagua much has already been written in the press about this. But it is such an important issue that I hope further comment might be justified.

It is well known that mass migration from Haiti to The Bahamas has been a threat to the country for many years. While Haiti, with its population of more than 10 million, continues to suffer from political and economic instability and has become an impoverished country, it is inevitable that its deprived citizens will seek a better life elsewhere. The nearby Bahamas is an attractive destination. But, as conditions in Haiti have worsened with the recent assassination of its President and another earthquake following the deadly one in 2010 and migration has increased, the issue has become a ticking time bomb that surely needs to be addressed urgently.

It is self-evident that with a population of some 400,000 spread out over a large number of islands, many of which are underpopulated, the country could be swamped by uncontrolled, disorderly and illegal mass migration. A large influx could quickly precipitate an overwhelming humanitarian crisis. It would put impossible pressure on civil society, affecting public services, housing, education and health and even food supplies to the unacceptable detriment of Bahamian citizens. Furthermore, injecting large numbers of foreigners into communities could lead to criminality and violence and it could even threaten the nations very existence. All this is, of course, well known but is perhaps worth repeating as a timely reminder that the first duty of governments is to protect their own people and ensure their security and one element of that is controlling illegal immigration.

Many believe that such considerations should be the starting point of any discussion about migration from Haiti, not least by those who tend to be sympathetic to the plight of migrants who, they contend, are after all only trying to escape danger in their own country in an effort to seek a better life elsewhere. Certainly, the importance of treating everybody humanely and with dignity and respect in accordance with the law should never be underestimated, particularly in the case of those who are suffering from circumstances beyond their control.

Thus, all countries need to have in place up-to-date immigration legislation so that all concerned are aware of what they can and cannot do and to ensure those concerned are treated fairly.

Controlled flows of people across international borders are often seen as an important element of globalisation in so far as in the case of larger receiving countries, in particular migration can be a source of increased prosperity and beneficial to their societies. But for The Bahamas, which is classified by the UN as a Small Island Developing State, conditions peculiar to its particular status come in to play, and it is reasonable to expect others to recognise this. Nonetheless, while putting the interests of their own citizens first, it is essential for the government to find a balance between protecting its own people and respecting the human rights of migrants.

Even with the assistance of the US Coast Guard, finding and intercepting vessels carrying migrants surely remains a difficult task, partly because of non-functioning drones and radar systems but also, reportedly, due to the lack of an RBDF base nearer to Haiti for example on Ragged Island. It is likely that some migrant boats are slipping through the net. But, for those who are caught, it is clear that the existing procedure of deportation, including those who have not had a chance to be heard in a court of law, has until now kept a lid on the problem and has wide public support.

With so many migrants being held last week in Inagua, the island was said to be on the brink of an humanitarian crisis. According to the press, Human Rights Bahamas has welcomed the opportunity for all detainees to appear before a magistrate sent there for that purpose and reports yesterday that more than 500 illegal immigrants were deported over the weekend will be welcomed by many. That said, there is the obvious danger of legitimate refugees and asylum seekers being swallowed up in mass court hearings and the criminalisation of people who are denied a chance to put their cases individually.

So, in the midst of uncertainty and potential lack of due process for individuals and while the country is under particular scrutiny about mass illegal immigration the essential first step seems to be for the government to expedite the enactment of new legislation. It is said the law needs to be updated and clarified. A draft Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Bill has been around for a while, and The Tribune was writing editorially about the need to bring it forward for debate as long ago as the beginning of 2019. While deportation of illegal migrants, with or without an appearance in court, has worked so far, it is surely essential to ensure that the Bahamas government consistently acts in accordance with the nations own laws as well as its international obligations.

During the last few week in the UK, climate change protesters have been blocking some of the nations main highways. This has caused havoc and massive disruption of traffic. The group concerned calls itself Insulate Britain. It claims its purpose is to publicise its demand that the government should pay for all homes in the country to be insulated by 2030, and that physically blocking highways is the only way to bring itself to public attention.

Motorists in huge tailbacks of traffic have been in angry clashes with protesters. But, to many peoples bewilderment, the police have adopted a softly, softly approach in removing the protesters who seem to have been emboldened to spread their activities. In explaining their supine reaction, the police have complained they lack sufficient powers to stop these eco-protesters. But that appears to be a hollow claim given that obstructing a public highway is already an offence.

Some people regard these events as an example of democracy in practice when the right to protest must be respected, even in such extreme circumstances. The vast majority, however, consider that only in a tolerant country like Britain could unacceptable action of this sort by a minority be allowed to happen, and they have been demanding stronger action by the responsible authorities.

It must have come as no surprise, therefore, that on the eve of the current annual Conservative Party conference, the Prime Minister took the bull by the horns by pledging his support for the law-abiding majority going about their daily business; and he announced new measures including fines and imprisonment to stop what he called the reckless and selfish behaviour of this minority.

That will surely go down well with those attending the conference. But many question why immediate action was not taken. Maybe it is a lesson to us all that, while our rights in a democracy including the right to protest are sacrosanct, a countrys leaders should always be guided by a sense of proportion in balancing those rights against the publics broader obligations in a free society.

In Britain last week, huge publicity about the outcome of the trial of a serving Metropolitan Police officer, who was convicted of kidnapping, raping and murdering a 33-year-old woman walking home alone in south London in March this year, has reflected the outrage of a shocked nation. Under the guise of a false arrest for breaking COVID rules, the police officer in plain clothes handcuffed her, forced her into his car, and later burnt and dumped her body in woods near his home in Kent.

The judge termed the case a devastating, tragic, brutal and grotesque crime and sentenced him to a whole-life term of imprisonment which is reserved for the most heinous crimes. It means there is no provision for parole and he will die in jail.

Unsurprisingly, this horrific case has rocked peoples trust and confidence in the police though many contend that one rogue cop should not result in condemnation of the whole Metropolitan Police force that protects law and order in London. But what is worrying many people is that it has now been revealed that he had been described earlier as a sick and dangerous individual who should never have been near a police uniform. He had an unsatisfactory record in his police job and was a known drug user who had an unconcealed taste for extreme pornography. Yet, despite his unacceptable behaviour, he still managed to stay in the police force.

Another well-known case affecting the Met that caused much concern was its flawed investigation following the murder of a black male teenager, Stephen Lawrence, in London in 1993.

His killers were not brought to justice for some 20 years and an official inquiry culminated in the Macpherson Report of 1999 which found that the investigation had been marred by professional incompetence and failure of leadership as well as institutional racism.

Yet another example in Britain, many years ago, of the deficiencies of large organisations was the case of the defection of two establishment figures the infamous duo of Burgess and Maclean who had been spying for the Soviet Union and had fled to Moscow together in the 1950s. They were aided and abetted by the notorious fellow spy Kim Philby, who had earlier warned both that the British security net was closing in on them, and who became known as the Third Man. In his book entitled The Climate of Treason, first published in 1979, the author Andrew Boyle expertly chronicles their story and how, for many years, they survived official scrutiny of their nefarious activities. Boyle maintains that Britains ruling class at that time was dominated by a tight web of loyalties, friendships and school and club relationships and was reluctant to investigate one of its own. So the failure of British authorities to unmask the activities of such people, despite compelling evidence that something was amiss, sprang from a mix of complacency, poor leadership, inertia and misplaced loyalties.

I mention these cases in order to emphasise the importance of checks and balances in any system of democracy. They show how members of the public should be on their guard about potential inadequacies, weaknesses, mistakes and sometimes the abuse of power of large organisations that can develop into unaccountable behemoths; and these can include police forces and governments themselves. In all democracies they should be placed under constant public scrutiny in order to protect the peoples freedoms.

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PETER YOUNG: We need to be tough on illegal immigration but obey the law - Bahamas Tribune

Austin, TX, October 11, 2021 Toward the end of the summer, there was a precipitous jump in the progress of Governor Greg Abbotts fundraiser for the construction of the Texas border wall.

Though the crowdfunding campaign had previously only raised about $1 million for the project, the number jumped to almost $19 million by August 27 and then over $54 million by early September. As of Friday, the border wall funding still remains at just over $54 million.

According to a report by the Texas Tribune, the lions share of the funding for the wall has come from Wyoming billionaire Timothy Mellon, who contributed millions to former President Trumps campaign and gave $53.1 million in stock for the Texas wall.

Known for donating tens of millions to mostly GOP candidates and causes, Mellon also reportedly gave $2,500 to Republican Allen West when he was running for Congress in Florida in 2012. West is now running for governor against Abbott.

West is among Abbotts opponents in the Republican gubernatorial primary who question whether the barrier the governor has in mind will be effective.

Mellon is the chairman of Pan AM Systems Inc., an industrial services company based in New Hampshire. He is the grandson of the late Andrew M. Mellon, who was the United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1921 to 1932. The Mellon familys fortune totals approximately $11.5 billion, per an estimate by Forbes.

He has been a supporter of strong immigration laws in the past, including Arizona Senate Bill (SB) 1070, which sought to detect illegal immigration and criminalize it at the state level. Mellon contributed $1.5 million to defend the law in court, according to the Arizona Daily Sun.

The Texas wall has been a fixture of Abbotts border security efforts since June, when he set up a venue for public contributions to the project. The Texas Facilities Commission selected a program manager for the border wall project in September.

In terms of the scale of the funding, Mellons contribution is dwarfed in comparison to the billions in taxpayer funds that have been set aside for border security this biennium.

During the second called session of the legislature, a bipartisan majority of Texas lawmakers added $1.8 billion in new spending on securing the border, which includes $750 million in spending on the wall and a $250 million reimbursement for a down payment on the project this summer.

Near the Rio Grande River in Mission this week, Abbott was flanked by nine other Republican governors in calling on the federal government to do more to deter illegal immigration and secure the border. Amid an ongoing border crisis, private citizens, border agents, and local governments have been left to deal with much of the cost.

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Billionaire Descendent of Treasury Secretary Gave Over $53 Million to Texas Border Wall, per Report - The Texan

For Immediate Release 10.08.2021 Governor Hutchinsons Weekly Address | Firsthand Perspective from the Southern Border

Governor Hutchinson'sweeklyradioaddresscan be found in MP3 format and downloadedHERE.

LITTLE ROCKToday Id like to talk about my recent trip to the southern border of Texas. General Kendall Penn, Adjutant General of the Arkansas National Guard, joined me for a visit with members of the Arkansas National Guard who are in Texas to support Operation Lone Star. They are doing a fantastic job for our state and nation. We also went on a fast boat inspection of the Rio Grande River and received a briefing from the chief of the U.S. Border Patrol in the Rio Grande sector.

The issues at the border are familiar to me. When President Bush appointed me as Undersecretary in the Department of Homeland Security in 2003, one of my tasks was to oversee security of our southern border. The problems were challenges 20 years ago. But the current number of illegal crossings and apprehensions, the volume of illegal drugs seized, and the human trafficking are far worse than weve ever seen, especially in Texas.

Under Operation Lone Star, there have been nearly 7,000 arrests and nearly 150,000 illegal aliens that have been apprehended and referred to federal immigration authorities. And then Border Patrol apprehensions and seizures are on top of those numbers.

We have a crisis at the border. It is a humanitarian crisis, a border-security crisis, and a public health crisis all rolled into a national security threat. Its never been worse than it is right now. Any time you have migrants coming across our border from scores of countries, waiting for the right moment and then successfully coming in, this is not a closed border.

Until January, U.S. border policy had controlled the flow of illegal crossings and drugs. But those policies were reversed, and that puts all of us at risk, especially those who live along the border in Texas and Arizona. We must change our policy in order to regain control.

I was one of 26 governors who signed a letter requesting a meeting with President Biden to discuss the crisis. After three weeks, the President has not responded. On Wednesday, nine other governors joined Texas Governor Greg Abbott for a press conference to demand federal action to control the border.

Governor Abbott has allocated more than a billion dollars to continue building the wall along the Texas border and to initiate other measures to protect his state.

The illegal immigration and drug smuggling is a national problem. Those who cross illegally dont remain in Texas and neither do the drugs. They are coming into Arkansas and all over the United States. Every state has an interest in bringing this under control.

Late Monday night, we took a boat tour along a section of the Rio Grande River that is a hotspot for smugglers. Then we hiked through the brush on the Texas side of the river. The people who patrol at night work in total darkness and rely on night-vision goggles.

Arkansas is doing its part as we are asked. The men and women from the Arkansas National Guard who deployed in July are doing an incredible job of maintaining vehicles for the Texas National Guard.

My trip was useful as I saw firsthand the enormity of the challenge along our border and to personally thank the men and women who serve our country as Border Patrol agents and as National Guard members.

CONTACT:Press Shop (press@governor.arkansas.gov)

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Governor Hutchinson's Weekly Address | Firsthand Perspective from the Southern Border - Governor Asa Hutchinson

Illegal immigration at Americas southern border is on a steady surge and the Biden administrations apparent open border policies are to blame, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, argued on "The Story."

TED CRUZ: Right now, under Joe Biden, we simply have open borders. It is an absolute catastrophe. I've been to our southern border many, many times. It's worse than I've ever seen it. We are right now on a path to over two million illegal immigrants crossing into this country this year under Joe Biden. It's the worst illegal immigration we've had in 21 years. You know, just a little bit less than two weeks ago, I was down in Del Rio. I saw firsthand the crisis that was there -- where because the Biden administration refused to deport the illegal immigrants from Haiti, we saw what had been about 700 people under the bridge in Del Rio grow, when I was there, to 10,503 and within a couple of days after that to 15,000.

And I got to tell you, yesterday, I sat down with the foreign minister of Panama and she described how Panama has seen over 80,000 thousand Haitian immigrants, Haitian evacuees crossing from South America through Panama, headed to the United States. And this is all happening because Joe Biden and Kamala Harris refused to enforce the law and have essentially said anyone who wants to come to America, they're going to resettle them. They're going to give them benefits, they're going to let them stay. And it's resulting in a public health crisis and a humanitarian crisis.

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Ted Cruz blasts Biden for creating worst illegal immigration at southern border in decades - Fox News