Eduardo is an undocumented immigrant who has fought for over 15 years for the rights of immigrants, students, and workers, for Black and Brown unity, and against police brutality. He, along with Left Voice member Julia Wallace, organized and mobilized students and workers during the 2006 immigrant uprising in Los Angeles, leading a student walkout, among other social movements. Eduardo has also been vocal on the importance for the immigrant rights movements to break from the Democrats and to fight the Far Right.

On February 7, 2025, Julia Wallace met with Eduardo for an interview. They discussed the history of undocumented workers in the United States and conditions experienced by immigrant workers, as well as recent youth-led protests against ICE and Trump’s attacks on immigrants, the importance of Black and Brown solidarity, and uniting against all attacks on oppressed people. The interview was lightly edited for length and clarity.

***

Harmful Myths about Immigration in the United States

E: I once heard about the idea that the United States is a country of immigrants. That is not true. Most people have the idea that the United States is great because of immigrants. In part that’s true. But the United States is a racist, colonial settler entity, and imperialist, that relies on labor exploitation. So that’s something I wanted to emphasize.

I also want to debunk the idea of the good political party, meaning Democrats versus bad political party, or Republicans. In my eyes, they’re both evil. They represent the same interests.

Finally, I also want to debunk the idea of a “good immigrant” versus the “bad immigrant,” the “good worker” versus the “bad worker,” and those types of narratives that we see in our communities. There’s an old rhetoric that tells what a “good immigrant” is. So we kind of have assimilated it. When some immigrant rights activists say that we need to be nonviolent, they continue to reinforce these stereotypes.

So I guess I want to start by just saying that undocumented immigration and its oppression in the United States is not new.

The Life of an Undocumented Worker

JW: What role do undocumented people and undocumented workers particularly play in the United States?

E: A lot of American workers, they feel like we’re taking their jobs away. But in reality, we are a very small number in the American labor force. We represent around 8 to 10 percent of the labor force. But the labor that we do is in key industries, such as farming, construction, and hospitality. And through that we become a key component of the American economy. For example, in 2023 we paid around $92 billion to $96 billion in taxes, but that number doesn’t show how much money we actually make. So when we take into consideration the money we use to survive and remittances, we see that we generate around $300 billion every year. We pay taxes, yet we don’t get anything in return. We don’t get retirement, Social Security, or Medicare. We don’t get any form of social resources. All that money goes into the pockets of capitalists.

So there is no avenue for many of us to move out of these sectors — low-paying jobs, manual labor, and precarious living conditions. Sadly, many immigrants did not have access to resources, like education, in their home countries to succeed in life, and so when they come here, they also find lack of resources to thrive in life, trapping us in a cycle of poverty and oppression.

Nonetheless, our money is very important to the U.S. and other countries in Latin America. Many countries depend on the money we send back. These same countries experience violence from the United States, which then forces people to migrate to America.

One thing you hear in immigrant communities is that we are the backbone of the country’s economy. We do the jobs Americans don’t want. And without us, this economy would collapse. So the knowledge is there. Yet we have not used this economic power to our advantage.

Unfortunately, there’s also an idea that as an immigrant, you cannot say anything for fear of retaliation, for fear that you may lose your only source of income, for fear that you may not get hired again. And this way of thinking affects U.S.-born and documented workers too, who see how undocumented workers are being treated and the dangerous conditions they work under. Documented workers are then less likely to complain when they don’t have a day off or when they don’t get overtime or when they don’t get paid sick days. Why? Because they fear that if they complain, they will be fired, or they think that an undocumented person who’s afraid to complain could then take their job. This fear puts us into antagonism, and only benefits the boss/capitalist.

Hypothetically, if all undocumented people get deported, that doesn’t mean that workers in the United States will get living wages or better working conditions. Undocumented and documented workers need to realize that our situation is getting worse, that we have the same fears, the same enemy. But more importantly, the same goals/dreams — achieve a comfortable life. It’s time for us to speak up and to demand better wages, working and living conditions.

The undocumented community is also diverse. It’s diverse not only in racialized groups. But in terms of ethnicity, gender, and gender identity, sexual identity, age groups, and many other subcultural backgrounds. This is why, what we’re seeing now is people with different cultural backgrounds coming together and saying this is not only [an] immigrant struggle.

The Development of Immigration Law in America

E: Undocumented immigration as we know it dates back to the late 1800s, when the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed. So that was the first time when people were restricted from coming to the U.S. due to nationality, and gender, and from there more laws were passed to restrict specific groups of individuals from coming here. In specific these laws target nonwhite European people, or those considered a threat to American society and labor force.

Throughout time, new laws have been implemented restricting the entrance of people. Under the Clinton administration, they implemented a new law that started to mix criminal laws with immigration laws. What that means is that he started to criminalize individuals for petty crimes, such as not driving without a license, and making them subject [to] deportation.

And that in itself became a problem because that law was actually expanded under the Bush administration. Thanks to the terrorist attacks on 9/11, they were able to further use criminal laws to go against undocumented immigrants. That’s when they created the Secure Communities Program, the program which allowed police departments to start arresting and deporting people and also going into workplaces to conduct raids. After that, Obama expanded that program, 287(g), by using the private prison industrial complex and by putting a quota of around 35,000 undocumented immigrants who needed to remain in prison at all times.

When Trump came into power the first time, he used the same system and expanded it to commit the atrocities that we saw in terms of separating families and militarizing the southern border. And what we saw with Biden is that he continued Trump’s policies and expanded them. And toward the end, what we heard from Biden and Kamala, in their efforts to win the Republican vote, is that they would be worse than Donald Trump in terms of immigration.

So they passed these laws so that the police can stop whoever they want to and ask for documents. They’re not just going to go for undocumented immigrants. They go after whoever looks different to white Americans. So if you have an accent, more than likely your citizenship is going to be questioned. This affects African Americans and Haitians. If you speak Spanish, your citizenship is going to be questioned. And so this becomes a problem as everybody is under attack, anybody gets questioned, everybody is exposed to some sort of violence. Why? Because being stopped by police can lead to police violence and other forms of trauma.

In essence, what we’re seeing in these attacks from Trump is that they’re just building on top of what the previous administrations (Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden) were doing. The level of violence that we see in our communities has been perfected over and over again to the point that now petty nonviolent crimes can be grounds for deportation. Just stealing candy can lead to deportation.

JW: We’re seeing a rise in nationalism and far-right attacks on immigrants all over the world. What explains this? What’s compelling so many people to migrate?

E: Undocumented immigration is not unique to the United States. It’s a global phenomenon. What we see is that usually individuals from the Global South — countries that have been underdeveloped or colonized by European or Western countries — are the ones forced to migrate, usually to Europe or Western countries like the United States.

What we also see is that in these Western countries like Italy, Spain, and the UK, they talk about undocumented immigrants the same way we do here in the United States. In these countries they talk about immigrants as a danger to their country, their economy, the safety of their citizens, among other negative views. And in all these countries we see immigrant communities facing similar conditions and inequities like a lack of health care or well-paid jobs. All these rights that we don’t have here in the U.S., they don’t have.

But undocumented immigration doesn’t only affect Western countries. It also affects other countries like Mexico, where immigrants have to transit through to reach their destination. So we see that undocumented immigration has become an issue there as well.

Our Struggle Continues Today

JW: How would you characterize the current movement against attacks on immigrants? What can people learn from it?

E: What we’re seeing in the streets today shows the long history of resistance of the immigrant community and the influence that other movements have had in our community, like Black Lives Matter and the movement for Palestine. Not only did those movements influence other marginalized groups, but they brought in many groups that were previously apolitical against the constant gaslighting/oppression from the system.

Sadly, one thing I kind of noticed is that a lot of left groups and left-wing people are condemning these actions because they’re spontaneous. They’re organized through social media. But the truth is we’re in a new age, and we need to use new technology, new ways of organizing. Just because you don’t see X, Y, or Z organizations calling for that protest, we’re not going to invalidate it.

I remember in 2006, when the marches started happening and we had millions of people take to the street, at first they were demanding the end of HR 4437, but then it changed to “Let’s go for the whole enchilada,” which meant “We want citizenship.” And that was the new demand. But then we saw that union bureaucrats, the Catholic Church, the Democratic Party, and nonprofits didn’t want that. And they divided and pacified the immigrant movement and community. They used the idea of “go to work in the morning, and join the march in the evening.” And then they said, “Don’t bring your Mexican or Guatemalan or Salvadoran flags. Bring American flags because we want [the government] to see that we are assimilated to the system. We want them to see that we are Americans.” But the truth is, America doesn’t want us to be included. Why? Because it’s a systematic form of excluding people from their benefits from their rights. And that’s not unique to undocumented people. That’s also like, you know, historically happening to African-Black Americans. Like when people tell them, “Go back to where you come from.” Not only do they erase the history of Black Africans in America, but it also shows the sentiment that they have never been accepted or included into this society. Just like we will never be accepted into this country.

And so what we see now on the street — marches and walkouts — comes with mixed emotions to the community. We see that the youth, students, and their actions change the dynamic of how we talk about police brutality and about colonization, among other forms of oppression. They are showing their pride in their cultural backgrounds among other forms of identity. However, some people are suggesting that protesters should bring an American flag so others can see us as Americans, and to be “peaceful.” As if they don’t understand that this only benefits our oppressors. So I strongly support every single person who is breaking apart from old ways of thinking and confronting the violence affecting us.

I remember back in 2012, I got interviewed by a European PhD candidate at the time, and I remember telling her, you know, I got inspired by the immigrant movements in France, as they were very outspoken at that time. And the first thing she said [was], “No, we get inspired by you guys. We saw 2006 and we got inspired by you.” So we just talk about how [the] Black Lives Matter and Gaza movement[s] have inspired our youth, but also others around the world. So I want to say to the youth and every single person that is thinking whether or not to join the struggle, or whether they have an influence, that whatever we do here in the U.S., it’s going to have an influence around the world. They are watching us, they’re watching how we react/fight, what we gain/demand. So it is time for us to adopt a more progressive struggle that goes beyond a fight for citizenship.

And I agree with you, we need open borders. But I think that’s a little bit difficult, but not impossible. I think that the first step to achieve this is to adopt demands that not only apply to immigrants and workers in the United States but to everyone around the world. And for that we need to organize at a local, national, and international level.

And now we have the tools, right? We have social media, although I think that it’s a double-edged sword, but we have the tools to reach people from all over the world in seconds. So we can send messages all around the world — within Gaza — and show people that we can mobilize as one unit, to end the war and any other oppression affecting us. We’re seeing some pro-immigrant protests in Mexico, you know. Like Mexicans, people are also showing solidarity in other countries. So I think that now it’s time to start organizing a global day of action, and be like, let’s have a day without immigrants, not only the United States but in the whole fucking world.

I want to address the youth, and everybody who is taking the streets, taking over the freeway, and confronting police. I support you. I think that what you’re doing, it’s valid and empowering. It shows that there is discontent and that we acknowledge that this issue, it’s not only affecting our parents, but it’s affecting us

I hope that you understand that the immigrant struggle is intersectional and goes beyond citizenship, as we are also women and members of the LGBTQ+ and trans community. So we have to diversify/expand the movement. Citizenship alone will not protect us. Remember, we have never been accepted and we will never be accepted into this country unless you are white European. So we need to figure out how to get workers to support the immigrant struggle, but also the trans movement. We need to figure out how we can get the women’s movement to join our struggle. How can we get other marginalized groups into our struggle and against homelessness? That’s especially important in Los Angeles, where they criminalized homelessness and said that undocumented people are the reason why people are homeless.

More importantly, we need to figure out how to create one single social movement that is not afraid to use our labor and economic power as a weapon. Remember, capitalists don’t care about anything other than profit. So don’t be afraid to call for general strikes. Not just for one day but for multiple days. We have to be strategic and tactical, and for that we need to fight as one.

JW: Do you have anything else you want to make sure to say? Any closing words?

E: Yeah. I just want to say to everybody who is out there [and] is scared. I just want you to know that your fear is valid. But fear only arises when we see a challenge and, whether we do something or not, things will not be the same. So take deep breaths. If you’re experiencing panic, anxiety, or anything, it’s valid. Just close your eyes, take deep breaths — count to six when you inhale, count to 10 when you exhale — for 10 times, and you will feel better and once you feel better, go rest, drink water. And when you feel Zen and balanced, go out there, organize. Let’s do something. Because being scared is not going to protect us. Taking action against what is scaring us is going to protect us, and sometimes taking action means to say no. Sometimes it means to take the freeway.