Immigrant Rights & Palestine: A Case for Intersectional Justice

Written By: MIMS Cohort 8 student Nurj Kaalim

One Wednesday evening, I sat in a circle in a room with classmates and professors, listening to Nelly Del Cid, an activist from Honduras’ Women’s Forum talk about courage, fear, and the importance of crossing borders, as well as standing in solidarity with “luchas en todo el mundo.” Her simple yet profound invocation of the importance of movement reminded me of the pivotal moment we’re in. Her discourse wasn’t just about immigration; it was a call to action, urging us to see beyond the surface and recognize the interconnectedness of various social justice movements. Some would say we are at a tipping point, crossing the threshold towards actively breaking the shackles that bind us to a system that continues to dispossess, disenfranchise, and exploit our communities. It made me reflect how although she was there to speak about immigration and to encourage us to see immigrants not as threats but as human beings with context, she also pointed out something we often forget when discussing immigrant rights: that immigration is an intersectional issue. Immigration intersects with racial issues, housing issues, white supremacy, labor rights, and certainly deeply intersects with the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Despite widespread international calls for a permanent ceasefire, the United States persists in its steadfast support of Israel. Daily, Americans must confront the reality that our hard-earned dollars fund the weapons used by Israel to extinguish hundreds of innocent lives, while simultaneously failing to provide adequate infrastructure for refugees and immigrants seeking sanctuary in the country. Within our borders, asylum seekers continue to reside in makeshift, substandard housing conditions. The same politicians who justify the killing of Palestinians also justify the mistreatment of migrants, while anti-immigrant factions propagate the narrative of impending collapse if immigration flows remain unabated. The unprecedented arrival of migrants at the southern border heightens anti-immigrant rhetoric from white ultra-nationalists, presenting a challenge to the immigrant rights movement in the United States. Some immigrant rights activists propose a race-class narrative to counter this racist rhetoric. While I recognize the importance of swaying working-class Americans, who voted for Trump in the 2016 elections due to disillusionment with neoliberal policies they incorrectly attach to the democratic party, the race-class narrative is lacking and potentially harmful because it inadvertently diminishes the very real existence of structural racism and white supremacy in the country. Instead of pushing for a race-class narrative, I argue that the immigrant rights movement should embrace a more comprehensive approach that recognizes the United States as a settler colonial project and push for an immigrant justice movement centered on decolonization. It is high time the movement recognizes that land acknowledgments are not enough, and as Tuck & Yang (2012) argued, are mere equivocations, especially when divorced from an actual commitment towards repatriating land to indigenous communities.

In a talk given by Janeen Camenote of the National Urban Indian Family Coalition, she asserts that only Native Americans should have a say in welcoming immigrants into the United States as aboriginals. While this statement might be a stretch, what I take from it is the need to center our language and messaging on the importance of decolonization. Immigration activists in the United States would be remiss to fail to connect the struggle for immigrant justice with the ongoing genocide in Gaza. The same violent tactics used ostensibly to deter immigrants from entering the US are tactics used by the IDF to control Palestinians and continue their occupation. Additionally, US interventionism abroad has proven to be a main driver of displacement due to violence, producing refugees and contributing to what the West considers the refugee crisis. It is essential for the immigrant rights movement to recognize the United States’ complicity in creating the conditions of violence and non-livability that force people to flee to our borders. Last and perhaps most important of all, the immigrant rights movement in the United States should begin to reckon what an actual principled position is when it comes to immigration and social justice.

As we approach the November 2024 presidential elections, the future looks bleak for Americans who both desire peace and a humane immigration policy. Thus, the immigrant rights movement must be more steadfast in holding the Biden administration accountable, not only for menial changes in immigration policy within our borders but also for the impacts of the country’s foreign policy on the ongoing displacement of people around the world, particularly in Palestine. It would be negligent for the immigrant rights movement not to oppose war and US interventionism abroad when it is the biggest driver of displacement and immigration. Beyond that, and perhaps just as pressing, the current state of this nation raises the question: If this country can afford to fund a war elsewhere, why can’t it allocate resources towards creating a more humane system for welcoming refugees and immigrants? How can we continue to justify allocating a huge sum of our resources to perpetuate violence while disregarding domestic issues that directly impact our communities?

Increasingly apparent is that the current moment we’re in calls for an intersectional approach to our work as immigration activists and in movement-building. Whether we like it or not, we are at a critical juncture in history. The words of Nelly del Cid and Janeen Camenote resonate urgently and profoundly, urging us not only to confront the issues facing our communities in silos but with the recognition that all struggles for justice are interconnected. As immigrant rights advocates and activists, we should not lose sight of the systemic injustices that bind us all, including the ongoing violence in Gaza perpetuated, unfortunately, with our support and complicity through our silences.