By Roman Soto
With President Trump’s recent promise to pursue mass deportation of the Latin immigrant population in the United States, many Latino Americans have taken to the streets to protest the injustices and raise awareness. In these protests, many times, the flag of the UFW (United Farm Workers of America) waves brilliantly in the air. Founders Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta notoriously invented and promoted their motto “Si Se Puede,” which translates to “Yes We Can” in English. While the saying ostensibly exhibits a sense of resilience among the farmworkers of America, it does not correctly represent immigrants and their struggle. The use of the UFW flag and its motto in a protest for immigration contradicts what Chavez and Huerta stood for: a basic set of humanitarian rights for farmworkers in the United States. Therefore, the slogan’s place in protests against deportation is politically incorrect. Here’s why.
Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, known for their undeniably inspirational successes as civil rights activists or leaders in the 1970s to 80s, established minimum wage, child labor reforms, and safer working conditions in favor of the Latino farmworker demographic of the United States. A common misconception is that Chavez and Huerta stood for the Latino (immigrant and American-born) communities of the United States; however, through Cesar Chavez’s patterns of racially derogatory acts directed toward Latino immigrants, it is evident that the United Farm Workers of America did not stand with Latino immigrants crossing the border.
Chavez’s opinion that farmworker employers would use undocumented immigrants as strikebreakers (a person employed in place of others, making the strike ineffectual) evolved into reporting undocumented immigrants to authorities. Despite his Latino roots, Chavez viewed undocumented immigrants as a threat to his goals as co-leader of the United Farmworks of America. Additionally, waves of undocumented immigrants entering the country could prove to be counterproductive to the labor movements Chavez and Huerta led. Chavez’s primary goal was to elevate the rights and welfare of the farmworker, particularly those already in the United States, and he viewed undocumented immigration as a barrier to achieving his vision.
In general, Chavez’s stance on immigration was not one of hostility but rather one favoring the farmworkers. With that in mind, due to the oppression those immigrants received, Chavez’s tainted words are not fit for the motto to be used in protests against deportation.