ProEnglish Advisory Board Member Compares Undocumented Immigration to Rape
Eddie Garcia moved to the United States as a child years ago and has since become a naturalized citizen. Now that Eddie is all grown up, he has a lot to say about immigration and America.
He loves to tell anyone who will listen that he and his parents came to America as legal immigrants. He also loves to promote the English language and bash undocumented immigrants. Eddie lives in Tennessee and has been very involved with trying to get English-only legislation passed in the state, most notably pushing legislation that would make English the only language available for people who take a drivers license test. In March of this year, Garcia testified in favor of the English-only bill.
Garcia is also an advisory board member of ProEnglish, a group formed by white nationalist John Tanton who still sits on the group’s board for directors. Tanton is the father of the modern day anti-immigrant movement. He has warned of a “Latin onslaught” and has also stated, “I’ve come to the point of view that for European-American society and culture to persist requires a European-American majority, and a clear one at that.” Read more
Defending the 14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment is the affirmation that all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction are, in fact, U.S. citizens. Efforts to dismantle are moving us backwards on American democracy.
It would take us back to a time when all other people, besides those of European descent, were not good enough to be first class citizens or worthy of attaining any status in this country.
I’m sure that after ratifying the amendment in 1866, lawmakers did not intend for it to be overturned. Advocates for changing the landmark bill are afraid of how immigration will affect the demographics, and are desperate to control the racial composition of the nation. I’m not an expert in immigration or Constitutional law, but I can give some reason as to why this is happening and why it’s a bad idea. Read more
Student Delegation Tours Arizona Amid SB 1070 Enforcement
Today, a national student delegation launched a five day tour of Arizona in the midst of the recent enactment of controversial law SB 1070. The Center for New Community, a national civil rights organization based in Chicago, is sponsoring the trip. Students from Washington D.C., New York, Chicago and Colorado applied to join the delegation in order to gain a better understanding of the debate over SB 1070. A total of nine undergraduate students were selected to take part.
The majority black student delegation will be hearing directly from local Arizona spokespeople on national immigration issues such as the economy; migration and the border; the criminal justice system; the anti-immigrant movement; and community organizing.
They will walk through a detention center that has processed over 33,000 undocumented immigrants this year alone. They will spend time in the Mexico/Sonoma desert where deaths from dehydration have exceeded lost US soldiers in Iraq. They will walk through tent city where Sheriff Joe Arpaio marched undocumented immigrants in chains and instituted chain gangs for women. Read more
Tea Party Nation Asks Supporters to Tell “Horror Stories” About Undocumented Immigrants
Since the Tea Party vehicle started there has been a constant debate over whether the movement is racist. While critics aren’t painting the entire movement as such, there are Tea Party leaders that have made headlines with racially insensitive rhetoric, and evidence of racist sentiments at Tea Party events across the nation abound.
In the beginning, the main issues for the Tea Partiers were big government and government spending, but as time goes on the issue of immigration has turned into a focal point for the movement.
One faction of the Tea Party that is not afraid to associate with nativism and xenophobia is the Tea Party Nation, led by Tennessee lawyer Judson Phillips. Earlier this week, the Tea Party Nation sent out an email to its 35,000 members asking them to post their “horror stories” about undocumented immigrants. Read more
14th Amendment In Peril, Arizona Nativists Leading Assault
The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees that anyone born in the United States is granted US citizenship and all of the rights that citizenship entails. The amendment has been in place since 1868, almost 150 years. Today in 2010, a fresh assault on the 14th amendment has begun. Not surprisingly, the assault has come from nativist groups and individuals, many of whom have ties to white nationalist organizations.
Many of the people and organizations trying to reverse the 14th amendment argue that undocumented immigrants come here for the sole purpose of having children. They have coined the derogatory term “anchor babies.” They are also not afraid to use language that degrades women when they speak about immigrants coming here just to have children. Lindsay Graham, a republican Senator from South Carolina recently stated the following in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, “People come here to have babies. They come here to drop a child.” Read more
Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric At Home With Gun Rights Advocates
by Brian Schultz
The major intersection of the gun rights and immigration reform debates is, unsurprisingly, that of security: current immigration policies put you at risk, so you had better own a gun to offset it. From the broader threat of unmonitored domestic terrorists to the isolated violence of street gangs, conservative groups like the NRA claim that illegal immigrants are fomenting crises in your backyard, and the only preparation is armament. But it hasn’t always had such a morose agenda; the NRA was first and foremost a conservative lobby with a fairly diverse ideological makeup—one that generally focused on the right to own a gun over the need to. So why all the doom and gloom as of late?
Recent events have begun to polarize the U.S. population on the issue of immigration reform, and it seems appropriate that one of the largest conservative lobbies would stake its place. But this is a more pervasive phenomenon than appraisals of S.B. 1070 and the Tea Partiers. In 2008, then NRA vice-president Wayne Lapierre issued a statement and survey accusing immigrants of violent crime, and argued the need to repatriate undocumented immigrants and the necessity of firearms to defend oneself against them. Read more
Dream Now Letters: Yahaira Carrillo
Originally posted on Citizen Orange on July 21, 2010:
The “DREAM Now Series: Letters to Barack Obama” is a social media campaign created to underscore the urgent need to pass the DREAM Act. With broader comprehensive immigration reform stuck in partisan gridlock, the time is now for the White House and Congress to step up and pass the DREAM Act!
Dear Mr. President,
My name is Yahaira Carrillo and I’m undocumented. As I write this, over 20 undocumented youth are risking arrest and deportation to demand that Congress take action for the DREAM Act. Just over two months ago, I, along with two others, became one of the first undocumented immigrants in U.S. history to do the same. Like Mohammad Abdollahi, who wrote you a letter on Monday, I too am queer. I risk being deported to a machista country, Mexico, where killings related to homophobia are rising. Read more
Immigration Reform Caucus Elevates Anti-Immigrant Paranoia
IRC Chairman Brian Bilbray
Over the past few weeks, the anti-immigrant movement has been on high alert after rumors surfaced that President Obama may be planning to use his executive powers to fast track a pathway to citizenship for America’s undocumented immigrants. One player in the anti-immigrant movement, the House Immigration Reform Caucus, sent a letter to Obama on July 1, voicing its opposition to Obama’s supposed plan. In total, thirty-nine members of the Caucus signed on to the letter.
The relationship between the Immigration Reform Caucus and FAIR is clear and irrefutable. Former IRC Chair Tom Tancredo was supported throughout his congressional tenure by FAIR and the John Tanton Network. After Tancredo launched his ill-fated presidential campaign in 2007, a former FAIR lobbyist, Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-CA), took over as IRC’s chairman. Bilbray was first elected to California House District 49 in 1994 and was defeated in 2000. Read more
Cross-Post: Killing of Arizona Latinos Blamed on Hate and SB 1070
Posted on Change.org’s immigrant rights blog by Alex DiBranco on June 25, 2010:
According to Juan Varela’s family, SB 1070 isn’t just a civil rights travesty: it has also caused the death of at least one Arizona Latino.
Varela was shot dead after an argument with a white neighbor, Gary Thomas Kelley, over Arizona’s harsh new anti-immigrant law. Despite the fact that Varela was a U.S. citizen — in fact, he was a third generation American — Kelley allegedly yelled before shooting Varela, “You fucking wetback! Go back to Mexico!” Back? When he was born in America? Varela’s family blames the extreme anti-immigrant, anti-Latino sentiment caused by fear mongering around the passage of SB 1070 for the death of their loved one. Read more
Huff Hosts Nativist Posts
Next time you log onto the Huffington Post be aware that it is hosting anti-immigrant nativists posing as “Progressives for Immigration Reform” (PFIR), a front group spun out by the white nationalist Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the very hub of the infamous John Tanton Network. The first PFIR column by its executive director, Leah Durant, appeared last week; more are said to be coming, twice weekly. Hosting PFIR puts Huff Post up there—almost—with The Nation magazine, which has unashamedly taken significant paid advertising from other FAIR fronts, the “Coalition for the Future American Worker” and related “America’s Leadership Team for Long-Range Population-Resource-Immigration Planning.”
Expressing faux-concern about the undercounting of undocumented immigrants in last week’s column, Durant feigned that “the incomplete census format is diluting the voting power of millions of American citizens,” an indication that she has conveniently forgotten her friendly photo with white nationalists at the 33rd Writers Workshop put on by The Social Contract Press, founded by anti-immigrant guru John Tanton. Durant was formerly a staff attorney for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, as if her PFIR “credentials” were not enough to expose her politics. Read more
Kobach Calls, Fremont Falls
Kansas Attorney Kris Kobach and his Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) ought to be taken to the court woodshed for costing taxpayers millions of dollars in frivolous and wasted legal fees to defend the Institute’s concocted local ordinances aimed at restricting the hiring or housing of undocumented immigrants. Part of the infamous, anti-immigrant John Tanton Network and its flagship Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), the IRLI is the alleged “legal arm” of the movement to stop immigration.
Fremont, Nebraska is but the latest prey in the IRLI scheme and scam, with its passage of a voter referendum this week to prevent hiring of or renting to undocumented persons. The outcome of the referendum has a long and sordid history. Beginning in 2007 with a group of local residents, anti-immigrant fervor in Fremont moved to a City Council vote in 2008 to essentially rid the city of “illegal immigrants” by way of an ordinance “largely prepared by the Immigration Reform Law Institute,” according to the City Administrator. The City Council’s tie vote was broken by the Mayor, who voted against the ordinance. The ensuing political and legal machinations to put the issue to a public vote went all the way to the Nebraska Supreme Court, which upheld a lower court ruling for the referendum. The vote was held, the ordinance passed, 57-43%. Read more
Armed Neo-Nazis Hunt Immigrants in Arizona Desert
The climate of fear in Arizona’s desert has just reached new levels. Stephen Lemons’ piece in yesterday’s Phoenix New Times clearly illustrates this as he documents his trip with J.T. Ready -a neo-Nazi and border vigilante.
As previously reported by Imagine2050, J.T. Ready is a well-known member of the National Socialist Movement, a neo-Nazi group. According to its website,
“Only those of pure White blood, whatever their creed, may be members of the nation. Non-citizens may live in America only as guests and must be subject to laws for aliens. Accordingly, no Jew or homosexual may be a member of the nation.”
In May, J.T. Ready and his white nationalist friends showed up to the anti-S.B 1070 rally with signs, confederate flags, loaded weapons and the following message, “We are here to defend ourselves. That’s one of our rights here in America.” Read more
Steve King Vies for Title of Top Political Bigot
House Immigration Reform Caucus (HIRC) member Rep. Steve King is one of the biggest immigrant bashers in Washington today. King represents Iowa’s 5th district, which is 95% white and has a population of just over half a million. He was elected to Congress in 2003 on an anti-immigration platform.
Since his election seven years ago, King has made a name for himself as one of the most outspoken anti-immigrant Congressmen. He’s a publicist’s worst nightmare as he can’t seem to think before speaking, which leads to ludicrous rants and rave. He was in the news again this week for comments he made about racial profiling and President Barack Obama. With these in mind, Imagine2050 presents the top five reasons why Steve King deserves to be called the biggest bigot in Congress: Read more
Murder in the Desert, Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric Turns Violent
In addition to shootings of Latinos by Border Patrol agents, there have been mysterious shootings and even murders in Arizona deserts. Troubling details are emerging that suggest these attacks on Latinos are not drug-related, as often reported, but the work of violent border vigilantes.
In the wake of the uproar over the passage of racist SB 1070 in Arizona, border vigilantes like Barbara Coe and Glenn Spencer, just to name a few, are revving up their anti-immigrant rhetoric. In a trend that has disturbing parallels, several immigrants were targeted by camouflaged gunmen last week. And two Latino men were found murdered in the Arizona desert on June 6. Mainstream media reports pin the cause squarely on drug smuggling; however, bloggers who have followed the story continue to uncover suspicious details surrounding the murders. Foremost of which is that no drugs were found on or near the victims, but an automatic rifle commonly used by border patrol agents was. Also, the murders occurred within close proximity to the high-profile Pinal County shooting involving sheriff’s deputy Louie Puroll. Pinal County’s Sheriff Babeu is rivaling notorious Sheriff Joe in his quest to publicize his unfair vilification of immigrants. Read more
Cross-post: Arizona law backers overwhelmingly support path to citizenship
By Sahil Kapur from The Raw Story
If you believe the popularity of Arizona’s tough crackdown on immigration reflect growing anti-immigrant wave, think again.
Supporters of the measure are even more likely than its opponents to favor a comprehensive immigration overhaul, a new survey conducted by Lake Research Partners and Public Opinion Strategies found Friday. Read more
The Politics of Immigration Reform After SB1070
In the last couple weeks the issue of immigration reform has come to the front burner due to draconian laws created by the anti-immigrant movement. One such law has been passed by Arizona state legislature and almost ten more state are on the way to introduce similar laws.
Many people in our society have spoken about it, but at the end of the day our elected leaders are the ones that change policy. In this situation, they have put politics before policy. This is what causes passions to boil up whenever this issue is talked about; the underlying understanding that politicians won’t tackle this issue because of upcoming elections. Read more
Anti-immigrant Bill Dies in Mississippi
So what’s got me smiling today? Could it be the “surprised kitten” YouTube clip floating around the office? No, as sweet as that is, I’m most excited about Tuesday’s civil rights victory in Mississippi which saw the state’s legislature kill the so-called “Immigration Reform Act of 2010” (SB2032).
The bill, which initially passed the senate, died in a house committee despite being promoted by the anti-immigrant group, the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) and a last minute endorsement by the white supremacist hate group, Council of Conservative Citizens. Read more
Cross-post: Republican Bill Seeks to Deprive American-Born of Citizenship
Filed under: American Identity, Immigration, Politics
Alex DiBranco highlights an ongoing threat, not just to the children of immigrants, but to any American whose ability to prove birthright is compromised.
A proposed bill sponsored by Rep. Gary Miller (R-CA) wants people born in the U.S.A. to no longer receive automatic birthright citizenship.
The 14th Amendment, definitely one of the more awesome amendments in that it determined people born in the U.S. are all citizens, not slaves, states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” Miller wants a federal law that says that “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” bit excludes children born in the U.S. to two undocumented parents. Read more
Cord Jefferson Gets it Wrong on Immigration and Black America
Let’s just say up front I am not sure when Cord Jefferson’s writing is tongue-in-cheek or trying to be serious. Recently, he blogged ‘In Defense of John Edwards’ and talks about why progressives do not have the right to be as upset with Edward’s actions as conservatives, which I am sure was written with tongue firmly planted in cheek. His latest blog in The Root, ‘How Illegal Immigration Hurts Black America’ Jefferson liberally mixes fact and fiction to weave his tale.
Jefferson brilliantly ignores his own sources or twists them like pretzels to craft his fictional piece so that it has the feel of legitimacy.
1. He conveniently ignores an entire paragraph in the referenced Washington Post article which explains why there is higher unemployment by young Blacks such as Dlonta Spriggs. “Traditionally the last hired and first fired, workers in Spriggs’s age group have taken the brunt of the difficult economy, with cost-conscious employers wiping out the very apprenticeship, internship and on-the-job-training programs that for generations gave young people a leg up in the work world or a second chance when they made mistakes. Moreover, this generation is being elbowed out of entry-level positions by older, more experienced job seekers on the unemployment rolls who willingly trade down just to put food on the table.” Read more
Anti-immigrant Forces Target Struggling American Communities
Kobach
Tanton
The man at the heart of the most influential anti-immigrant network in the country, John Tanton, has created an empire of organizations consisting of lobbyists, lawyers, legislators, and “experts” who have infiltrated the very depths of social and political debate.
Lately, that has been no more apparent than in Arizona’s Maricopa County, where the Tanton Network’s favorite attorney, Kris Kobach, is busy working with notoriously brutal Sheriff Joe Arpaio. A Kansas attorney, professor, and politician with controversial associations, Kobach has a history of preying on vulnerable communities. Communities weakened, for example, by corruption or political division. Read more
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