The United States is currently facing a crisis with immigration from the southern border. The media's role in shaping the narrative around unlawful immigration has sowed confusion about its root cause among Americans across the political spectrum. Meanwhile, the "American Dream" is under ever greater strain due to rising inflation, housing costs, gas prices, and growing distrust in the government bureaucracy, with more and more workers barely subsisting. While Democrats and Republicans shriek at each other, the ruling class keeps workers divided by blaming new migrants for their deteriorating living standards. 

State of Emergency

Major U.S. cities are grappling with a humanitarian crisis as thousands are left homeless, relocated to cities like New York, Chicago, Washington DC, and Denver. New York Mayor Eric Adams recently announced that the city had been “destroyed" by migrants. New York is setting up temporary homeless shelters for those who can't find space in the existing network of over 200 hotels and facilities. The city is currently providing shelter for 60,000 migrants and over 50,000 homeless individuals.

Meanwhile, Texas Governor Greg Abbott is sending buses filled with migrants to Democrat-led cities as a protest against President Joe Biden's perceived inaction. El Paso, Texas, has relaunched an independent charter program, funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to handle the influx of asylum seekers.

Boston recently declared a state of emergency due to the rising number of migrant families in need of shelter and a severe lack of availability. Neighborhoods in Chicago are resisting housing large numbers of people in local schools, fearing a lack of employment opportunities for everyone. This concern is not limited to Chicago, as politicians across these cities are requesting federal work permits to provide residents with job opportunities. The government, however, has refused, so as not to "encourage" more people to cross the border in search of better-paying jobs.

The Biden administration's handling of the situation has been widely criticized, with a recent poll showing a 62% disapproval rating for his efforts. Meanwhile, a government shutdown looms as Congress struggles to agree on basic funding bills when the 45-day relief plan ends in November.

American Imperialism as a Catalyst

People from nations affected by American imperialism seek a piece of the American Dream. However, even within the United States, achieving success through hard work is becoming increasingly challenging. The influx of people comes at a time when the U.S. government is failing to provide stable conditions for its existing population.

The immigration crisis can be traced to multinational corporations working on behalf of U.S. imperialism. The roots of today's crisis can be traced back to the Banana Republic era of Latin America. In 1911, the United Fruit Company, supported by the U.S. government, sponsored far-right mercenaries to orchestrate coups in several Latin American countries. During the Cold War era, the United States supported fascist military juntas in Chile, Argentina, and Brazil as part of its broader strategy to counter the spread of communism in Latin America.

In Chile, the U.S. government covertly backed the 1973 coup that toppled the democratically-elected government of President Salvador Allende, paving the way for General Augusto Pinochet's reign of terror. The American empire made an example of Allende for pursuing socialist policies and his alignment with the Soviet Union. In Argentina, the U.S. supported the military junta led by General Jorge Rafael Videl that seized power in 1976. This junta launched a brutal campaign of repression known as the "Dirty War," resulting in the disappearance of thousands of suspected communists and other political dissidents. The U.S. government provided years of diplomatic and material support to the military regime. Similarly, in Brazil, the U.S. installed an equally ruthless military junta in a 1964 coup, led by the dictator Marshal Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco. The U.S. government saw these vicious regimes as soldiers in the fight against communism.

This violent history of political unrest along with the color revolutions that continue to this day have driven people to seek better lives in the United States, hoping to find employment to support themselves and send remittances to family back in their home countries.

U.S. imperialism, whether through military intervention or economic sanctions, has forced millions to flee their homelands. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) lambasted U.S. foreign policy, attributing the migration from Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua to illegal unilateral coercive measures (sanctions) imposed by the U.S.: “They (the U.S.) don’t do anything,” AMLO said. “It’s more, a lot more, what they authorize for the war in Ukraine than what they give to help with poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean.” He called for a U.S. program “to remove blockades and stop harassing independent and free countries, an integrated plan for cooperation so the Venezuelans, Cubans, Nicaraguans and Ecuadorans, Guatemalans and Hondurans wouldn’t be forced to emigrate.” 

No Solution But Revolution

While the GOP advocates closing the border, the Democratic party lacks a clear strategy. New York Democrats, overwhelmed by the crisis, are ever more amenable to reactionary policies. Chief adviser to Mayor Adams, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, recently announced “We need the federal government, the Congress members, the Senate and the president to do its job: close the borders.” The Mayor later walked this comment back, but proceeded to make a trip to Latin America to personally demand that people there stay in their countries.

The migration crisis is a by-product of imperialism and will only end when the workers of the world unite to defeat it. Anti-imperialists, both abroad and in the United States, believe the solution is to stop destabilizing nations through war and sanctions and instead pursue win-win economic diplomacy in Central and South America. As exemplified by the emerging BRICS economic bloc, fair business deals and mutual respect for sovereignty are essential steps toward ending exploitation and chaos.