In the face of the worst attack on the rights of immigrants in over 60 years, immigrant rights advocates were divided on the issue of defending the undocumented. Support for the tactic of splitting immigration reform legislation into a bill against undocumented and a bill against the rights of legal immigrants, weakened our ability to mount the kind of united front needed for this wholesale attack on immigrants.

Reacting to strong initiative from the Right, some advocates have felt that in order to protect legal admissions and the rights of legal immigrants, the issue of undocumented immigration had to be treated separately, and that legislatively, enforcement measures against the undocumented should be the real priority. They are outraged at criticisms of "selling out the undocumented," defending their position as tactically and politically practical in light of the Right,s offensive. There's no doubt that we are in a tough position and that we can,t stand around wringing our hands. However, upholding the rights of the undocumented needs to be a fundamental principle and not an option -- against which we weigh tactical decisions.

And just as we are critical of policy makers for failing to really address the complexities of immigration, as advocates, we should do no less.

YOU CAN'T 'SEAL' THE BORDER

By reframing our defense of the undocumented in the context of the continuing globalization of the economy and the permanence of the international migration of workers, we will be addressing our immigration issue more accurately. Given the trends of international migration, no amount of restrictions, short of outright fascism, will seal our borders. It has been clear for some time that employer sanctions are unenforceable - and a fundamentally flawed approach to stopping undocumented immigration.

As immigrant right advocates we need go beyond the positive economic contributions of the undocumented to aggressively advocate for the human rights of all migrants -- such as reflected in the UN Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrants and Members of Their Families. The convention recognizes the global scale of the migration of peoples, and promotes basic human rights, without distinction, for all migrant workers and their families, documented or undocumented. The convention supports the right of family reunification, establishes the principle of "equality of treatment" with the citizens of the host country in relation to employment and education, protects migrants against collective deportation and makes both sending and receiving countries responsible for protecting the rights of migrants.

NEED TO ADDRESS ECONOMIC DISLOCATIONS

We have to address the very real economic dislocations that are at the root of our national hysteria against immigrants. Our elected officials and corporations must be held accountable for massive job loss and declining wages.

We need to oppose harmful trade agreements like NAFTA, as well as mergers and deregulation that lead to massive job loss. We can start by raising the state and federal minimum wage and restoring the social safety net for those affected by job loss.

We need to question the free-flow of capital over national borders, while controlling the flow of labor that ensures the exploitability of workers. We should challenge trade and development policies that exacerbate economic inequity abroad, degrade resources and displace populations, and require the rule of restrictive and undemocratic governments.

The globalization of the economy is the reflection -- and driving force -- of another historical juncture in the economic life of this country. The protection and expansion of the rights of immigrants should be part of a new and inclusive "social contract" in the U.S. at this juncture, just as at past junctures, workers in the U.S. gained such protections as a minimum wage, the eight-hour day, and protection from the exploitation of child labor.

Lillian Galedo is Director of Filipinos for Affirmative Action, Oakland.