As an immigration rights coalition, it is SA Stands’ mission to advocate for immigrant and refugee justice. We understand that the issues we face, the violence we confront, and the injustices we work to resolve do not stop at our border, but are international in character and scope. State violence and terrorism, on-going colonialist campaigns against civilians and indigenous peoples, and border politics designed to punish and vilify immigrants and refugees – these affect people around the globe; in response, we must affirm and strengthen our bonds of solidarity.
In this context, we are impelled to speak out against the genocidal violence in Palestine. Palestine has experienced 75 years of Israeli colonial oppression, loss of land, environmental assault and systemic apartheid. This grave situation has worsened over the past few months with the Israeli military assault on Gaza, stopping the transport of food, medicine and basic supplies into Gaza, the sharply increased structural, military, and paramilitary violence in the West Bank, and the kidnapping and illegal detention of both Palestinian and Israeli civilians.
In light of this intensification of violence, we call for:
- An immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, as well as the unimpeded entry of humanitarian aid and services, and the immediate restoration of water, food, fuel, electricity, and internet.
- Congress and the Biden Administration to end military aid to Israel and reject all funding requests that further enable the collective punishment and unfolding genocide of the people of Gaza.
- The U.S. government to stop all economic, diplomatic, political and cultural support for the Israeli government’s apartheid, occupation, and systematic dispossession of Palestinians in line with international calls for Boycott, Divestment, Sanction (BDS).
- The U.S. to provide reparations for rebuilding destroyed infrastructure and healing injured people and land, meanwhile preparing for future climate crisis, which has been hastened by the military violence.
The situation in Gaza is unbearable. Upwards of 30,000 people have been killed directly by Israeli military violence. Hundreds of thousands more are missing or have been critically injured. Almost the entire population of 2.3 million people are facing famine, inadequate shelter in freezing weather, and/or death by disease due to the lack of clean water and food, medical supplies, and humanitarian aid. Israeli Occupation Forces’ (IOF) bombardment has targeted hospitals, leaving every hospital in Gaza functionally inoperative. The majority of residents have had their homes destroyed. Most of the population has moved to the southern area of Rafah, which Israel designated as a “safe zone.” Nevertheless, Israel (IOF) persists in bombing Rafah and trying to expel the population of Gaza into Egypt. Israel’s claim that it is attacking Hamas targets has been repeatedly debunked by reputable agencies and news sources. It is clear that Israel is not acting in defense of its citizens but has intensified an ongoing colonial project of territorial acquisition, environmental toxification, and genocide.
SA Stands is aware of how closely the struggle for immigration justice in the US is linked to the struggle for Palestinian liberation. We are resisting the same enemy: an attack on refugee and indigenous populations under the deceitful cover of ‘security’ for some in wealthier nations, supported by racism and Islamophobia, and profiting many of the same corporations. Massively increased U.S. funding for Israel’s military and for militarizing the border were proposed in tandem, last fall. Such expenditures not only escalate violence but they displace funds crucially needed for meeting domestic needs for those in the US, for citizens and immigrants alike. Furthermore, there are striking parallels between the threats and violence from Israeli settlers to Palestinians and the U.S. anti-immigrant groups and Texas’ operation Lone Star for immigrants.
According to the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights: “Trump held up Israel’s walls as a model for expanding the US/Mexico border wall and was cheered on by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. And the connections go even deeper: the land split by the US/Mexico border wall is lined with towers patrolled by Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems, while Israeli companies Elta and Magal and occupation profiteer Caterpillar are vying for contracts to get their hands on the wall. So when people chant ‘from Palestine to Mexico, all the walls have to go,’ it is more than just a slogan. It is a shared reality of colonization and corporate exploitation that translates to a shared struggle for collective liberation.”
As an immigration rights coalition working towards our collective liberation we demand an immediate, permanent ceasefire, and the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.