Journalist David Bacon to Speak on Immigration

The limits on economic opportunity that have come to bear in the U.S. have contributed to a feeling of resentment of immigrants. Workers from "south of the border" are vilified and scapegoated - despite not just a perception that they will do the kind of work many Americans will not do, but actual reports of the difficulty of finding U.S.-born workers to take such jobs. This is the case in Alabama, where farmers and ranchers may be unable to properly harvest their crops this year due to a harsh anti-immigrant law that has left them with workers who perform poorly or last less than a week on the job.

The scapegoating is also done by elected officials who, in an effort to appeal to working class anxieties, pass laws such as the one in Alabama or the more notorious SB 1070 in Arizona, which calls for racial profiling in a search for illegal aliens. The seemingly invariable progression is toward getting rid of the "offending parties", which includes the conduct of raids by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that result in deportation of illegals - some of whom are separated from family members, many if not all who are deprived of a new livelihood. And who otherwise would pay taxes and contribute to our economy.

In the eyes of former labor activist and long-time photojournalist David Bacon, such raids amount to a violation of human rights for a group of workers - and people - that the rest of us take for granted. Peace Action of San Mateo County is proud to present a free talk by Bacon called "End the Raids - Justice for Immigrants and all Working People." He will approach the immigration issue from what he calls "a human rights perspective on migration and labor rights." The UU is wheelchair accessible.

David Bacon is an East Bay-based writer and award-winning photojournalist. He is an associate editor at New America Media, and writes for The Nation, In These Times, The Progressive, and the San Francisco Chronicle, among other publications.