The Intersectionalities of Trade and Migration Policies June 14, 2007

Peace Action of San Mateo County will present Colin Rajah of the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, to speak on the connections - or what Rajah calls the "intersectionalities" - between the current immigration crisis in the U.S. and the free trade policies, implemented by the U.S. and the first world, and how the latter exacerbates the former.

It has been widely acknowledged that the neoliberal trade agenda globally has been responsible for mass displacement of communities in the Global South due to its multi-pronged strategies of privatization of the public sector, slashing of subsidies for local industries, exposing local markets to cheap products and services from the Global North etc. However, there has been a dearth of attention paid towards the actual intrinsic nature of trade and migration policies, as part of a larger covert foreign policy agenda being espoused by the Global North (the U.S. and the E.U. in particular) for the dual purposes of controlling global markets and the flow of labor. On Thursday, June 14, Colin Rajah will lead an exploration into the cause and effect of these circumstances, and help us give voice to a call for reconsideration of the trade policies that drive immigrants to the U.S. in search of a better life.

The National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (NNIRR) was founded in 1986 by diverse immigrant community leaders seeking an ongoing space and vehicle for communication among community organizations fighting for immigrant rights across the U.S. NNIRR is currently a national organization composed of local coalitions and immigrant, refugee, community, religious, civil rights and labor organizations and activists.

Colin Rajah is Director for the International Migrant Rights and Global Justice Program at the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (NNIRR), which is a U.S. network of immigrant community organizations and advocates.

About Peace Action of San Mateo County:
Peace Action of San Mateo County is a local affiliate of Peace Action and Peace Action West. We are a product of the merging of the Nuclear Weapons Freeze and SANE--Committee for a sane nuclear policy. We advocate for nuclear disarmament and weapons abolition, an end to war and arms trafficking, and bringing corporations to obey the rule of law.

No charge.

Official Website: http://www.sanmateopeaceaction.org