After airport workers threatened a strike and brought Trump to his knees last month, and as they threatened to do so again this coming Saturday, Pelosi has capitulated to his anti-immigrant hysteria and agreed to increases for immigration enforcement, including $7.6 billion for ICE ($512 million over FY2018) and $14.9 billion for CBP ($942 million over FY2018). $1.375 billion is allocated towards border barriers.

Working people will have less power if there is increased spending on the border and surveillance. Citizen and non-citizen workers trying to unite across that difference and form unions to bargain collectively with their bosses for safer conditions and to keep more of the share of the wealthy they produce, will face a harder time when bosses can create division and a climate of fear with threats of ICE raids. Immigrant families will continue to perish in the desert as they flee conditions of violence in their home countries exacerbated by US intervention and regime change. DHS will continue to avoid accountability for kidnapping, torturing, and then losing children, perhaps never to be reunited with their parents.

The flight attendants’ union called for a general strike this Saturday and has shown the power of organized workers, since the bargain struck includes less funding than was passed by Congress at the end of 2019.

Nonetheless, we condemn this deal.

The vote is likely to be held TODAY, Thursday February 14.

DSA urges all members to call the Congressional switchboard at (202) 224-3121 right away to demand your members of Congress join DSAers Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Rashida Tlaib and Congresswomen Ilhan Omar and Ayanna Pressley and VOTE NO.