By Pat Young
Program Director, CARECEN December 28, 2007 11:02 AM
Last week I wrote about the huge influence the immigrant-hating Federation for Immigration Reform (FAIR) has on cable news shows like Lou Dobbs. Now the Des Moines Register reports that the organization founded by racists for racists is trying to become a major player in presidential politics. FAIR is funding hook-ups for right-wing radio talk show hosts who come to Iowa to spew about the caucuses. Their latest event in Iowa drew Fred Thompson and Ron Paul, hardly top tier candidates, but still…
Much of the current hatred of immigrants has been fostered by the talk radio industry. The immigration reform debate in the first half of 2007 uncovered a potent force to build listenership even at the expense of a sitting Republican president. Right radio did a lot to trample immigration reform, and it found new viability after suffering listener losses in the wake of its support for the discredited war in Iraq.
The direct alliance between right radio and anti-immigrant hate groups means that in 2008 the same folks who mobilized against same-sex marriage in 2004 will take the field against immigrants. The men and the moment are joined. God help us!
National Public Radio had a segment this evening on their ‘All Things Considered’ program that spoke about how crimes against Latinos are on the rise.
All Things Considered, December 23, 2007 · Southern Poverty Law Center statistics show that hate crimes reported against Latinos increased 35 percent between 2003 and 2006. According to the Center’s Mark Potok, the spike reflects the nation’s increasingly strident debate over illegal immigration.
Response to a Letter to the Editor written by Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies entitled, The Case Against Immigration in the Washington Post.
How can ‘Center for Immigration Studies(CIS)’ claim to be ‘pro-immigrant’ when they write books entitled, - ‘The Case Against Immigration’ which are clearly anti-immigrant? Largely the immigration debate today focuses on the ‘legality’ of immigrants but it’s very clear from your letter that the Federation for American Immigration Reform(FAIR) network including CIS opposes all forms of immigration.
In researching FAIR, one learns that all of the anti-immigration groups over a dozen in all have been created by and are connected to FAIR. Additionally, the true motivating factors for FAIR are population growth control and the environment. It just so happens that ‘illegals’ are the easiest ones to target but as your letter proves then legal immigrants will be addressed and lastly once FAIR has accomplished ‘immigration issue’ they will turn their attention to address the Catholics, Christians and others of faith to curb their reproductive ways. It reminds me of the saying by Martin Niemöller -
“First they came for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak up for me.”
Let this serve as a warning for all people of faith, the motivation for the FAIR network is suspect and it’s time for us to speak up.
Priceless. That’s how I describe witnessing Human Rights Commissioners ’keeping Corey Stewart’s chair warm’ while Corey & John Stirrup sat at tables below facing the Commissioners. It was odd that each table had a single microphone so there was some jockeying for an acceptable spot when called upon to answer a question.
Stirrup was very quickly told that his opening comments had little to do with the purpose of the Commission but was offered the opportunity to debate Chairperson Linda Chavez on his subject matter at another time.
The Commission asked for any empirical data used in the County’s determination that ‘illegal immigration’ had caused ‘economic hardship and lawlessness’ or if it was based on anecdotal evidence. The County Executive referred to his report that identifies ‘plus or minus’ $3 million as partial justification for the resolution. According to Stewart’s own statements this is an ‘insignificant’ amount of money when considering the County’s $800 million budget. Also mentioned by Stewart were jail and gang statistics along with a good helping of anecdotal information. Anecdotal meaning unsubstantiated complaints like those we so often hear about loss of ‘quality of life.’
Chavez likened the Immigration Resolution to a scene in Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland where the Queen of Hearts(played by Corey Stewart) asks the King - ’sentence first, verdict afterwards.’ She compared it to the part of the resolution that reads,
WHEREAS, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors has determined that illegal immigration is causing economic hardship and lawlessness in this County…
Hats off to Annabel & Eric for getting this whole exchange on video.
The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), an organization
that has played a key role in fueling the fierce backlash against
Latino immigrants in the United States, has a long record of bigotry,
according to a new SPLC report.
Because of its white supremacist views, the Southern Poverty Law
Center has designated FAIR a hate group.
Dec. 11, 2007 — The country’s leading anti-immigration organization –
whose leaders have testified repeatedly before Congress and are
frequently quoted in the media — has ties to known racists and a long
track record of bigotry, according to a new report released today by
the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
The group, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR):
is the creation of a man who operates a racist publishing company and
has compared immigrants to “bacteria;”
has employed members of white supremacist groups in key positions;
has promoted racist conspiracy theories; and
has accepted more than $1 million from the Pioneer Fund, a racist
foundation devoted to eugenics and to proving a connection between
race and IQ.
FAIR and its ties to white supremacy are examined in the latest issue
of the SPLC’s quarterly Intelligence Report.
The SPLC today added FAIR to its list of hate groups operating in the
United States.
“FAIR’s position on immigration is rooted more in its anti-Latino and
anti-Catholic beliefs than in policy concerns,” said Mark Potok, the
director of the SPLC’s project that monitors hate group activity.
“Remarkably, it has still managed to infiltrate the mainstream and
shape the immigration debate in this country.”
FAIR helped defeat federal immigration reform earlier this year and
has played a key role in fueling the fierce, anti-immigrant backlash
in the United States. It was founded in 1979 by John Tanton, a man who
has compared immigrants to bacteria and warned that high birthrates
will allow Latinos to take over America. Still a member of FAIR’s
board, Tanton also operates The Social Contract Press, listed as a
hate group for many years by the SPLC because of its anti-Latino and
white supremacist writings.
“The sad fact is that attempts to reform our immigration system are
being sabotaged by organizations fueled by hate,” Henry Fernandez, a
senior fellow and expert on immigration at the Center for American
Progress, told the Intelligence Report.
The SPLC has documented a 40 percent increase in the number of hate
groups since 2000, an increase that SPLC analysts attribute to the
anti-immigrant fervor that is sweeping the country. The FBI recently
released statistics showing a 35 percent rise in hate crimes against
Latinos since 2003. A sampling of some of the most egregious acts of
violence against Latinos over the past three years is included in the
new issue of the SPLC’s Intelligence Report.
The number of immigrants in the county who are not U.S. citizens increased from 58.4 percent in 2000 to 63.9 percent in 2006.
An interesting tidbit not included in this article is that Corey Stewart’s own wife is part of the reason for the increase in non-U.S. citizens in the County. Stewart’s Swedish wife - Maria has never adjusted her legal permanent resident status to citizenship. So, since, Corey & Maria moved to Prince William County in 2001, she’s part of the reason Census Statistics for Non-US Citizens increased between 2000 and 2006.
A reader reminded me of the Christian movement called - ’New Sanctuary Movement.’ There have been members of this movement that have spoken in opposition to the ’Immigration Resolution’ at the Prince William County Board of Supervisor’s Meetings.
According to their pledge, -
The New Sanctuary Movement is a coalition of interfaith religious leaders and participating congregations, called by our faith to respond actively and publicly to the suffering of our immigrant brothers and sisters residing in the United States.
We acknowledge that the large-scale immigration of workers and their families to the United States is a complex historical, global and economic phenomenon that has many causes and does not lend itself to simplistic or purely reactive public policy solutions.
We stand together in our faith that everyone, regardless of national origin, has basic common rights, including but not limited to: 1) livelihood; 2) family unity; and 3) physical and emotional safety. We witness the violation of these rights under current immigration policy, particularly in the separation of children from their parents due to unjust deportations, and in the exploitation of immigrant workers. We are deeply grieved by the violence done to families through immigration raids. We cannot in good conscience ignore such suffering and injustice.
Therefore, We Covenant To:
• Take a public, moral stand for immigrants’ rights
• Reveal, through education and advocacy, the actual suffering of immigrant workers and families under current and proposed legislation
• Protect immigrants against hate, workplace discrimination, and unjust deportation