The Right to Stay Home How US Policy Drives Mexican Migration

The story of the growing resistance of Mexican communities to the poverty that forces people to migrate to the United States
 
People across Mexico are being forced into migration, and while 11 percent of that country’s population lives north of the US border, the decision to migrate is rarely voluntary. Free trade agreements and economic policies that exacerbate and reinforce extreme wealth disparities make it impossible for Mexicans to make a living at home. And yet when they migrate to the United States, they must grapple with criminalization, low wages, and exploitation.
 
In The Right to Stay Home, journalist David Bacon tells the story of the growing resistance of Mexican communities. Bacon shows how immigrant communities are fighting back—envisioning a world in which migration isn’t forced by poverty or environmental destruction and people are guaranteed the “right to stay home.” This richly detailed and comprehensive portrait of immigration reveals how the interconnected web of labor, migration, and the global economy unites farmers, migrant workers, and union organizers across borders.
 
In addition to incisive reporting, eleven narratives are included, giving readers the chance to hear the voices of activists themselves as they reflect on their experiences, analyze the complexities of their realities, and affirm their vision for a better world.

Award-winning photojournalist, author, and immigrant rights activist David Bacon spent over twenty years as a labor organizer. Bacon’s previous books include The Children of NAFTA, Communities without Borders, and Illegal People (Beacon, 2008). He is an associate editor at Pacific News Service and writes for the Nation, American Prospect, Progressive, and San Francisco Chronicle, among other publications.

Contents
 
Introduction ix
 
One
From Perote to Tar Heel
Pushing People out of Veracruz  1
Smithfield Goes to Mexico  4
And Veracruz Migrants Come to the United States  10
The Union Campaign in Tar Heel  14
Demands for Change, on Both Sides of the Border  18
A Union for Tobacco Workers  22

Narrative One. You Don’t Need to Be a Doctor or Scientist
to Smell the Stench: The Story of Fausto Limon 31

Narrative Two. We’re Here Because of the Economic Crisis:
The Story of David Ceja and Guadalupe Marroquin 35

Two
Cursed by Gold or Blessed by Corn
Communities Resist Canadian Mining Companies  41
Killings in San Jose del Progreso  47
Oaxacans Debate Poverty and Migration  53
A Government Committed to the Right to Not Migrate?  61
Can the Triquis Go Home?  71

Narrative Three. If We Don’t Attack the Roots
of Migration, It Will Continue to Grow:
The Story of Rufino Dominguez 82

Narrative Four. We Want to Talk about the Right
to Stay Home: The Story of Aldo Gonzalez 93
 
Three
The Right to a Union Means the Right to Stay Home
Mexican Miners Resist Repression and Poverty  98
Labor Law Reform a Boss Could Love  104
Calderon Goes to War with the SME  113
Migration and Cross-Border Labor Solidarity  122
Narrative Five. We’re Fighting for Our Right to Keep on
Living in Cananea: The Story of Jacinto Martinez 130
 
Narrative Six. No Matter What the Result, We Will Continue
to Resist: The Story of Humberto Montes de Oca 135
 
Four   
Defending the Human Rights of Migrants
Special Courtrooms for Immigrants  142
Bush Ties Workplace Raids to Immigration Reform  146
Myths and Realities of Enforcement  153
Mississippi Resists Political Raids and Anti-Immigrant Bills  158
Utah’s Immigration Bills: A Blast from the Past  170
 
Narrative Seven. They Pay Us a Wage That Barely Allows Us
to Make a Living: The Story of Lucrecia Camacho 177
 
Narrative Eight. We Made Them Millions of Dollars:
The Story of Lupe Chavez 184
 
Five
Fighting the Firings
Mass Firings: The Obama Administration’s Workplace Enforcement Policy  188
The Firings Spread, along with Resistance  195
Protest Tactics Cross the Border  204
Marching Away from the Cold War  211
 
Narrative Nine. This Law Is Very Unjust:
The Story of Teresa Mina 220
 
Narrative Ten. When We Speak You Hear a Roar:
The Story of Keith Ludlum and Terry Slaughter 223
 
Six
Human Beings or Just Workers?
How Do You Say Justice in Mixteco?  230
Something Less Than Citizens  238
Enforcing Labor Rights for Border Crossers  247
Canada’s “Model” Guest Worker Program  253
The Pitfalls of Regulating Guest Worker Programs  261
 
Narrative Eleven. The Future Doesn’t Exist for Us Here:
The Story of Miguel Huerta 270
 
Seven
The Right to Not Migrate and Radical Reform 273
Challenging the Washington, DC, Consensus  274
The Right to Not Migrate Is a Social Movement  283
 
Acknowledgments  288
Sources  289
Index  292