Anti-Immigrant Message Not Welcome at Tea Parties

Today, Americans for Legal Immigration PAC (ALIPAC) sent out an email to members telling them that they are lending their support to the Tax Day Tea Party efforts nationally on April 15, 2009. They had this to say:

"We are notifying our supporters of the plan for pro immigration enforcement groups to lend our support to the Tax Day Tea Party efforts nationally on April 15, 2009."

There are currently two separate groups organizing their own nationwide tea parties: The Nationwide Tax Day Tea Party (www.taxdayteaparty.com) and the American Family Association's (AFA) Official Taxed Enough Already (TEA) Party www.teapartyday.com. We attempted to contact them both for comment.

Speaking by phone with Julia Nelson, spokesperson for the Nationwide Tax Day Tea Party, she explained that her organization was not aware of ALIPAC’s announcement. She also explained that although her group could not deny ALIPAC supporters the right to attend their event, ALIPAC’s message against undocumented immigrants is not welcome and will not be a part of the Tax Day Tea Party message.

According to the Anti-defamation League, Americans for Legal Immigration Political Action Committee (ALIPAC), led by William Gheen, is the “largest anti-immigrant group in the country”. The ADL says that ALIPAC led by Gheen is “a xenophobic anti-immigrant group…publicly branding undocumented immigrants as murderous criminals and disease carriers".

In a report from the Southern Poverty Law Center, William Gheen makes a habit of using “nativist aphorisms” like “Call me old fashioned, but people should be able to shop at Wal-Mart without worrying about catching [t]uberculosis.”

The first of the “Tea Parties” were organized in February after CNBC reporter Rick Santelli called for "tea party"-style protests over the Federal stimulus package and government bailout programs. Since then, right-wing activists have been mobilizing for April 15th to protest any plan of President Obama and the Congress to save the country’s ailing economy.

We attempted several times to get in touch with the American Family Association, however were unable to get a comment from them on ALIPAC’s announcement at the time of publication.

Read more »

Myths of Illegal Immigration and Crime

If you perused the Sunday edition of The Oregonian online this week, you may have read the hysterical op-ed by former writer for the now defunct Conservative Digest and Oregonians for Immigration Reform member, Richard F. LaMountain. In LaMountain’s op-ed, he went about the tired game of myth telling that undocumented immigrants “commit more serious crime than the population at large.”

The reality of Mr. LaMountain's claims is it is part and parcel of the same collection of myths that groups like Oregonians for Immigration Reform, Americans for Legal Immigration (ALIPAC) and the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) have been touting to drum up fear of immigrants in an attempt to mislead Americans away from supporting a remedy to our broken immigration system. In fact, these myths have been debunked time and again by reliable sources that have examined the data. One study this year done by the Public Policy Institute of California found that U.S.-born men have incarceration rates that are 2.6 times higher than those of foreign-born men and that evidence suggests that foreign-born individuals have very low rates of criminal activity.

What LaMountain and his group, Oregonians for Immigration Reform, pride themselves on is obstructionism to fair, just and non-punitive immigration reform , pure and simple. They even go so far as to celebrate every time Congress fails to pass any sort of remedy or solution to our broken immigration system, which should make any Oregonian pause to what their real agenda could be.

As for LaMountain’s agenda, we can only refer to his profile for his 2005 candidacy to Portland Community College Director Zone 4 seat. A few notable components to his platform included his goal to “End efforts to recruit, enroll and employ students from abroad”, “Reject official "multilingualism", “mandate that English is spoken by PCC staff on PCC premises” and “End PCC "affirmative action" and "diversity" efforts”. In a letter to the editor to the Portland Mercury, LaMountain asked, “Can our nation retain the Anglo-European cultural attributes…without a majority Anglo-European population? What will remain of Western values if countless non-Westerners continue to flood into America?” So, as Mr. LaMountain and Oregonians for Immigration Reform continue to participate in myth spreading and obstruction to real immigration reform, one can only question their true motives.

In a special report released from Media Matters for America last week titled “Fear and Loathing in Prime Time”, MMA specifically addressed the false myths about undocumented immigrants and crime which we hear perpetrated on some of the most prominent cable news programs. They said, “When it comes to immigration, cable news overflows not just with vitriolic rhetoric, but also with a series of myths that feed viewers' resentment and fears, fostering hostility toward immigrants”.

What is the most common myth? According to Media Matters, it is the myth that undocumented immigrants commit a disproportionate amount of crime. In their report, MMA refutes this myth citing several studies that show overwhelmingly that immigrants in general are less likely to commit crimes, that immigrants committed fewer crimes than native-born citizens, and that a greater proportion of immigrants in a neighborhood was associated with lower rates of crime. Read the full report by linking here

Read more »

Editor Calls Out ALIPAC for Spinning Fairytales

Seems more than just a few people are having a problem with ALIPAC. Today, Salem Statesman Journal Editor, Dick Hughes is having a problem with the anti-immigrant group’s honesty. In response to an action alert the group sent out this morning self-justifying their false reporting on a story, Hughes had this to say

The truth matters, not just saying "the truth is on our side." I find it unconscionable that ALIPAC is using a phony story about a "crime" to represent crimes by illegal immigrants. Such a strategy undercuts what ALIPAC says it stands for.

ALIPAC’s self-justifying email arrived on the heels of the mea culpa they issues yesterday evening after their veiled attempt to whip up hatred for Latino Immigrants failed. You can see a copy of that email here.

Not surprising to anyone, ALIPAC seems to be becoming increasingly desperate to find anything to demonize Immigrants, Latinos and any individuals or organizations that stand up to their racism and xenophobic rhetoric. Now more than ever they are reaching at any story, notion or fallacy they can find to energize their members. It is quite sad.

Read more »

ALIPAC, Anti-Latino Groups Share Egg on Their Faces

Yesterday, a story made it into the national news causing a frenzy among anti-immigrant, anti-latino organizations and commentators. Not even 24hrs later, anti-immigrant organizations like ALIPAC (Americans For Legal Immigration) were sending out an emails.

The emails called for the heads of, what ALIPAC termed, the “mob of Latino students that either were illegal aliens, in illegal alien families, or supportive of illegal immigration” for attacking a 13 year old Athens, Texas teen for an anti-immigrant sign she made for a class.

ALIPAC’s email claimed the girl, Melanie Bowers, was “choked and had her face slammed into a brick wall for bringing in a class assignment”. And that, “attackers threatened to drag her into the bathroom, rape her, and stab her to death.”

Their email went on to demand that "the school suspend all students involved in this attack, that local police file charges against all involved in the attack, and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement determine the legal status of the assailants and their parental guardians in order to enforce immigration laws applicable to any involved".

No investigation? No questions? Just reaction, reaction, reaction.

Enter egg. Late this afternoon, investigators determined through a surveillance video that Bowers, who ALIPAC claimed was attacked by a “mob of Latino students that either were illegal aliens, in illegal alien families, or supportive of illegal immigration” created her own injuries and made up the story of being attacked.

Had our legal system been run by ALIPAC, the "accused" would have already been sentenced and deported regardless of their citizenship.

With the seriousness of this issue, it is tragic that groups like ALIPAC would use it as an organizing scheme. There is something seriously wrong with an organization or group that cares so much about fanning the flames of hatred for Latino Immigrants and so little about justice.

Note: Checking links provided by ALIPAC for the story, video and action alert, we discovered they have since been removed. Below we have included the email alert from ALIPAC

Friends of ALIPAC:

This story is emerging from Athens Texas where 13 year old Melanie Bowers was choked and had her face slammed into a brick wall for bringing in a class assignment that read "If you love your nation, stop illegal immigration"

She was surrounded by a mob of Latino students that either were illegal aliens, in illegal alien families, or supportive of illegal immigration and attacked.

The attackers also threatened to drag her into the bathroom, rape her, and stab her to death.

If you are relying on the Associated Press out of Dallas, TX to feed this news to you across the nation, they describe the incident as a "scuffle" where "Verbal insults" were used.

ALIPAC will be demanding that the school suspends all students involved in this attack, that local police file charges against all involved in the attack, and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement determine the legal status of the assailants and their parental guardians in order to enforce immigration laws applicable to any involved.

This is the United States of America. This is not Mexico. In our nation, we do not use terror tactics to suppress free speech and violate the civil rights of American citizens by attacking children as a mob!
You can help us by taking action.

Please use the FORWARD feature at the bottom of this email to distribute this news.

Please review the news articles, including the biased Associated Press article.

Please watch the news coverage, vote five stars, make a comment (No foul language or violent posts allowed) and ad this video to your favorites to help ALIPAC spread the word and demand justice!

News Reports
American child assaulted and threatened with rape and murder by illegal aliens
http://www.alipac.us/article-3090-thread-1-0.html

VIDEO
Illegal Aliens Assault & Threaten to Rape & Murder child
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiyieUFAaic

If anyone decides to contact the school system, Athens police department, ICE, or the Associated Press about this case then please keep your cool.

Any communications that use foul language or threatening language will help Melanie's attackers. If you are too angry after reviewing this material, wait until your are cool and calm before taking any actions or making any attempts to communicate.

The ALIPAC Team
www.alipac.us

Read more »