Legal People

Who is a Legal Person?

Everyone was born into this world.

But the place where you are born

determines if you are legal or illegal.

This is what they say in the newspapers.

The land in this country was stolen from Native Americans.

The government violated over 400 treaties with these people.

Now they claim that people

not born on this land are illegal.

The government allowed African people

to be kidnapped and sold as slaves.

Millions were born on this land.

Yet these slaves had no legal rights.

The land in the South-West belonged to Mexico.

This land was stolen from its owners.

Today the government that stole this land

calls Mexican people illegal aliens.

When working people go on strike

they can go to jail for violating an injunction.

Born in this country or not,

the government considers workers on strike to be criminals.

Many people struggled for a better world.

They protested for civil rights and against wars.

Some of these people were murdered.

They thought they engaged in a legal activity.

Why do people come to live in the United States?

Is it because they like to take jobs away from workers?

Or do they want the chance to make a living?

Why can’t they make a living in other countries?

In 1911 the United States gave

money and weapons to the Mexican government.

This aid helped to crush a revolution

that attempted to improve the lives of the people.

In the 1950’s the U.S. armed forces went to Korea.

They murdered millions of people in that nation.

Today many Koreans come to the U.S.

for a chance to make a living.

In the 1970’s the U.S. armed forces went to Vietnam.

They murdered millions of people in that nation.

Today many Vietnamese come to the U.S.

for a chance to make a living.

The U.S. government gave the military forces

in El Salvador one million dollars every day.

70,000 people died as a result.

Many from El Salvador come to the U.S.

Although the officials in Washington

caused many of the problems in the world,

these same officials

call people from other nations illegal.

So, who is a legal person?

Someone who doesn’t violate the law is legal.

But the laws favor those who have a lot of money.

So, people with wealth are the ones who are legal.

Corporations make huge profits

due to the labor of all working people.

When workers make less, they make more.

This is how their system works.

Since no worker has full legal rights in this system,

aren’t all workers in a sense illegal?

Don’t we all need full legal rights?

What is wrong with demanding

a place in the sun for everyone?