Immigration

A stroll in the Arizona desert

Written by MJ Olahafa

The state of Arizona, located in the Southwest region of the United States, shares a 389 mile border with Mexico. After the passing of the Secure Fence Act of 2006, a 640 mile fence has been built along the US/Mexico border, and much of the foot traffic has been funneled to Arizona, forcing migrants to pass through its harsh desert.

As part of a student delegation by the Center for New Community to Arizona earlier this year, I had the privilege of following a few migrant trails and spending some time in the Sonora desert myself. What I saw and experienced in only half a day in the desert were pretty terrifying. Clothes had… Read more

Politics

Anti-immigrant group cloaks itself in progressive issues to spread xenophobia

Written by Jill Garvey

A relatively unassuming group in Arlington, Virginia, has strategically shed far right characteristics in order to better incite xenophobia. Perhaps the most effective mobilizing weapon in John Tanton’s arsenal of organizations – all engineered to dehumanize immigrants – NumbersUSA’s success lies in its moderate veneer.

When John Tanton organizations like the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) and Center for Immigration Studies (CIS)  came under fire for their anti-immigrant rhetoric, NumbersUSA didn’t defend its sister organizations; instead, it added a section to its website called “No to Immigrant Bashing.”

Currently, it even has a disclaimer at the bottom of its homepage that bills NumbersUSA as “pro-environment, pro-worker, pro-liberty and pro-immigrant,” despite content… Read more

Immigration

The Tanton Network’s Top 10 Gaffes of 2010

Written by Stephen Piggott

Reflecting on the past year, the John Tanton Network’s anti-immigrant organizations performed an embarrassing number of gaffes that further exposed their extreme views and ties to white nationalism. Here is a list of the top 10 gaffes made by the John Tanton Network in 2010:

10. House Immigration Reform Caucus member Steve King (R-Iowa) attended the 2010 CPAC conference in Washington DC. During a panel session with Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies, King said that he empathized with the man who crashed into the IRS building in Texas. King clarified his comments by saying that he would hold a fundraiser to help others “implode” IRS offices.

Culture

Pro-gun group, Appleseed Project, attracts white nationalist fans

Written by Imagine 2050 Editors

If you’re at all familiar with Second Amendment lobbyists and interest groups, you understand the general revolutionary panache in which the movement drapes itself: frequent appeals to the Constitution; incessant and undefined use of the word “liberty;” insistence on the lasting significance of arms in all societies.

The mystique of any pro-gun argument originates in this logic, tortuous rhetoric defending civil liberties and “rights” while remaining, on the whole, socially conservative. It’s a pretty complicated argument, and you’d need a crash course in this logic of tradition in order to fully understand it. Luckily, class is in session.

Enter the Appleseed Project. Operated by the Revolutionary War Veterans Association, it’s described as a… Read more

Immigration

2010: Highlights from a year of resistance

Written by Cloee Cooper

More often than not, acts of resistance do not get written into history books.  Here are five acts of courageous opposition to xenophobia and bigotry, spearheaded mostly by youth, that should be highlighted for the year ahead.

1.      On Friday, May. 21, 2010 at 3:19 PM, 1st Nation and Migrants opposed SB1070 during their occupation of the Border Patrol Headquarters in Tucson, AZ. They demanded dignity, human rights, and an end to border militarization.

2.      On August 9th, nine university students from around the country embarked on a Student Delegation to Arizona amidst controversial Senate Bill 1070. The goal was to investigate the most controversial state in the nation. They brought their findings back… Read more

Culture

Cross-Post: New Report Exposes Media Love Affair with Right-Wingers

Written by Imagine 2050 Editors

Originally published on Alternet.org by Joshua Holland.

Forget about fake moon landings and Obama’s birth certificate. The most enduring unfounded conspiracy theory in America is that our institutions of knowledge – the media, the academy and even science — are biased in favor of liberals.

The national media is based in large urban centers, so it should come as no surprise that conservatives would rarely see their views on strictly social issues well represented. But on matters of substance, we are talking about a corporate-owned media that pushes relentlessly for “free trade” deals, foreign wars and fiscal “austerity.”

Food Justice

Cross-Post: Working America’s 5 Best and 5 Worst Moments of 2010

Written by Imagine 2050 Editors

Originally published on Alternet.org by Kimberly Freeman Brown

It’s been quite a year for America’s working families. And as we gear up for the fights ahead, it’s important to reflect on 2010—both the highs and the lows.

The Best

1. Rail and Airline Union Elections Lead to a Win for Democracy

Imagine a presidential election in which all non-voters were tallied as a vote for the incumbent. That’s how union representation elections used to be for workers in the rail and airline industries, where non-voters were counted as a vote against the union. But last May, the National Mediation Board (NMB) adopted a new rule that ensures a more democratic

… Read more

Culture

‘Angel’ of hate infiltrates Illinois churches

Written by MJ Olahafa

Christmas is here. This is a time when churches are bustling and the kindness of patrons abounds. But in churches across Illinois a stranger is lurking, and extending a simple kindness to him has consequences.

A man named Andrew Angel is walking into places of worship and asking to have his picture taken with unsuspecting pastors and church leaders. Those pictures are inevitably ending up on a white supremacist website called ‘Divine International Church on the Web,’ owned and operated by Mr. Angel. A closer look at this website reveals that Andrew Angel follows the teachings of Christian Identity, a racist theology which teaches that salvation is solely for whites, that people of… Read more

Immigration

The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

Written by Dylan May

“Men’s courses will foreshadow certain ends, to which, if persevered in, they must lead,” said Scrooge. “But if the courses be departed from, the ends will change.”

With Christmas a mere week away, Ebenezer Scrooge, or rather the US Senate, voted down the DREAM act.  A Scrooge will be a Scrooge, however, and apparently the U.S. Senate is trying its hardest to live up to the miserly portrait that Charles Dickens so masterfully painted for his Christmas antagonist.  With nothing but the kindest of holiday cheer, and keeping with the metaphor, allow me to play the part of all three Ghosts, affording the U.S. Senators a glimpse of immigration past, present, and future.… Read more

Food Justice

Acts of Resistance and Hope, Breaking the Barriers of Power

Written by Rev. David L. Ostendorf

In a restaurant in a small Midwest town last week three workers got fired for standing up for a new employee promised one salary and given significantly less after his first week on the job.  They took the injustice to one of the owners, asked that it be redressed, and were summarily dismissed themselves.  The story didn’t make the news; these stories seldom do.  After all, it’s business-as-usual in America these days, where workers—especially immigrant workers—are expendable “inputs” treated with impunity.

These three workers were, however, unusual.  For the past year they have organized their own crew and other restaurant workers in the community for better wages and working conditions, and have stood fast in… Read more