10 Questions Legislators Should Ask FAIR Representatives

This week the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is in Washington D.C. to lobby legislators to discourage them from reforming America’s broken immigration system.

FAIR hasn’t been having a very good week. Turn-out to their "Hold their feet to the fire” event has been poor, the media has been discussing the report from the Southern Poverty Law Center that labels them a “hate group”, and the Smithsonian Institution publicly acknowledges it mistakenly rented space to the organization.

In effort to help out busy legislators and their staff, Rev. David Ostendorf at the Center for New Community has come up with a series of questions (and responses) that members of Congress can ask FAIR representatives when they come knocking:

1. Do you live in my District/State? A. Really? I hope you’ll move out soon. B. No? Why are you wasting my time?
2. When are you going to return that racist $1.2 million FAIR got from the Pioneer Fund? A. Never? Why don’t you just pass it through to the Klan? B. There is no B.
3. Since the Smithsonian banned FAIR from using its space again, where will you hold your awards dinner next year? A. Glen Beck’s studio? B. Roy Beck’s basement?
4. For an alleged mass movement against mass immigration, why was your turnout this year so embarrassingly miserable? A. You’re all smoke and no Fire. B. You couldn’t organize more than fifty.
5. How’s your latest eugenics study going? A. There isn’t one? Why not? B. You don’t call your stuff eugenics anymore?
6. Why don’t you want immigrants to have good health care? A. You already had your flu shots? B. You want Joe Wilson to be President?
7. What’s up with your hanging out with the vigilante Minutemen? A. You’re too afraid to pack your own guns? Wow. B. You’re too lazy to defend the border yourselves? Wow.
8. Do you support the Constitution of the United States? A. Yes? But only if it’s printed on white paper? B. Yes? But only up to the Tenth Amendment?
9. Why aren’t there any African Americans in your contingent? A. The four members of your infamous Choose Black America front were busy this week? B. Black people have to be treated like immigrants too?
10. What’s with FAIR’s ties to white nationalists? A. You like the intellectual stimulation? B. There’s a growing market for “Whites Only” signs?

Read the full article at http://www.imagine2050/ or by visiting: http://imagine2050.newcomm.org/2009/09/16/top-ten-questions-and-responses-members-of-congress-should-ask-fair-representatives/

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Anti-immigration Group Gets Called Out for Fuzzy Math

Today, the Immigration Policy Center released a report taking to task the arguments from the anti-immigration group NumbersUSA, which they say "don't add up".

In their report, Fuzzy Math: The Anti-Immigration Arguments of NumbersUSA Don’t Add Up, IPC says NumbersUSA claims immigration to the U.S. "is all about arithmetic". They say the group believes "immigration increases the U.S. population, and more people presumably means more pollution, more urban sprawl, more competition for jobs, and higher taxes for Americans who must shoulder the costs of “over-population."

Looking at the data, IPC says the math doesn't mesh and points out that NumbersUSA's argument, "is fundamentally flawed and misses the point".

“Over-population” IPC says, is not the the cause of "environmental or economic woes facing the United States", and that "arbitrary restrictions on immigration" will not create a "cleaner environment" or "healthier economy".

Read the full report here.

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Anti-immigrant Groups Attempt to Steal Earth Day

According to a recent article appearing in The Progressive, anti-immigrant groups are trying to infiltrate the environmental movement and coopt its message.

"Under innocuous sounding names such as the America’s Leadership Team for Long Range Population-Immigration-Resource Planning, anti-immigrant organizations, many with ties to political extremists, are running full-page ads in progressive magazines such as The Nation, Mother Jones and Harper’s and in newspapers such as the New York Times".

Read the full article here.

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Nativists Use Brutal Crime for Fear-Based Agenda

The article below is from the blog Imagine 2050. Contributors to the blog include activists, immigrants, artists and students who are invested in a future nation that embraces multiculturalism and tolerance.

Nativist Groups Use Brutal Crime for Their Own Purposes
April 11, 2009
Ken Brown

As a part of their Machiavellian attempt at poisoning the conversation in this country on immigration, nativist groups are twisting an awful crime for their own purposes. The Community Watchdog Project and Southern Connecticut Citizens for Immigration Reform, nativist groups responsible for fostering ill will toward immigrant communities and pro-immigrant policies in New Haven, CT, are exploiting a brutal beating and rape of a female worker for their own divisive purposes. Such behavior on these groups’ part is hateful and destructive to the well-being of the greater New Haven community. continue reading>>

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Bush Warns GOP about appearing Anti-immigrant

The New York Times reports that during an interview with Brit Hume for Fox News Sunday, President Bush warned his fellow Republicans against appearing “anti-immigrant” while admitting his party got "whipped in 2008".

“Look, obviously we got whipped in 2008, and there will be a new wave of leadership arriving on the scene,” Mr. Bush said. “But it’s very important for our party not to narrow its focus, not to become so inward-looking that we drive people away from a philosophy that is compassionate and decent.”

“We should be open-minded about big issues like immigration reform, because if we’re viewed as anti-somebody — in other words, if the party is viewed as anti-immigrant — then another fellow may say, well, if they’re against the immigrant, they may be against me.”

President Bush along with allies from his party warned time and again that those within the Republican Party opposed to comprehensive immigration reform ran the risk of alienating immigrants. Exited polls from November's election shows that President Bush's fears were correct with a large majority of Latinos turning out to support Democrats.

For more on the story, link here.

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Chicken Little, Immigrants are causing the sky to fall

Our partners over at FIRM, gave us this good laugh today. Apparently, the sham policy institute, Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) came out with a report this week blaming global warming on immigration.

For those that don't know, CIS is an offshoot of the anti-immigration organization, Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). Just when you thought FAIR's scapegoating couldn't get any more ridiculous, they go and surprise us.

In response to the CIS "report", Paco Fabián, Communications Director of America's Voice had this to say.

“We eagerly await the next CIS report, blaming immigrants for high gas prices, steroids in baseball, and the decline of the network sitcom. No matter the day, no matter the subject, their one-size-fits-all approach to policymaking conveniently blames immigration for all of society’s ills. If CIS was so concerned about the environment, you’d think they wouldn’t have wasted the paper to print this drivel. Wrapping anti-immigrant sentiment in pseudo-academic research doesn’t disguise the extreme absurdity and agenda of CIS.”

Definitely well said.

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Arpaio's Immigration Sweeps Draw Community Criticism and a Lawsuit

According to the news reports, a lawsuit has been brought against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio for what is said to be racial profiling.

Allegations are that the immigration sweeps conducted by Maricopa County Deputies under the direction of Sheriff Arpaio are targeting vehicles driven by individuals appearing of Hispanic decent to ascertain their citizenship status.

Those who filed the lawsuit claim that the Arpaio’s Deputies had no probable cause to stop the vehicles and those that were stopped for immigration checks were solely done so on basis of their skin color.

The Maricopa Sheriff’s office focus on immigration sweeps haven't been quite a favorite of residents and actually has come at a price. Among the complaints from residents is slow response to emergency calls and failure by the department to thoroughly investigate crimes.

According to the Capitol Times, the most affected are "remote rural communities in the sprawling county, where Arpaio stripped deputies from beat patrols to staff his new immigration enforcement team."

We will continue to follow this story and post updates as they come available.

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Lou Dobbs making a run for Governor?

As our partners at FIRM reported on Friday, apparently anti-immigration CNN commentator Lou Dobbs has been contemplating a run for Governor of New Jersey next year. To help Mr. Dobbs out, a website has been launched on his behalf announcing his platform.

His Platform:

Build a fence around New Jersey

Build like the biggest fence ever built around New Jersey

Deport everyone who looks like they might be an illegal immigrant

Ban the flying of the Irish flag on St. Patrick’s Day

Deport the Statue of Liberty back to France

Replace the New Jersey State Police with Minutemen

Although the platform seems realistic for Mr. Dobbs, if readers take a closer look, they will notice that the website is not real. According to Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice, “Lou Dobbs is not a real candidate, he’s a caricature of what is wrong with the current immigration debate. He offers no real solutions to our broken immigration system, and simply uses his program to spread proven lies, stir up racial tensions and fear, and provide a platform to known hate groups.”

The new Dobbs Campaign website is hosting a contest as well offering the winner who submits the best campaign slogan a free t-shirt with their slogan on it.

For more information, visit http://www.dobbsforgovernor.com/.

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Op-Ed Addresses Effects of Anti-immigrant Ordinances

An op-ed appearing in today's Newsday gives insight on the ill effects local anti-immigrant ordinances can have on city economies. In this piece, David Dyssegaard Kallick, a senior fellow of the Fiscal Policy Institute explains what happened to Riverside, New Jersey.

New Jersey town offers immigration insights
BY DAVID DYSSEGAARD KALLICK

In the midst of ongoing battles about local laws aimed at illegal immigrants on Long Island, a business leader from Riverside, N.J., came to a forum in Central Islip last week to give a warning about the experience of his town.

"Don't do what we did," he said.

In 2006, a minority of vocal individuals in Riverside pushed through a series of aggressive anti-immigrant laws, mandating fines for anyone who hired, rented to, or in any way aided an undocumented immigrant. The law was so broad that it faced immediate constitutional challenges. But the real problem, as with recent proposals on Long Island, was that the message was clear: Immigrants are not welcome.

Within months of the law's being passed, businesses closed, David Verduin, president of the Riverside Coalition of Business Owners and Landlords, told the audience. The main street emptied out. Skinheads came in to celebrate the new laws, yelling, "The South shall rise again!" Geraldo Rivera came to film a program about the anti-immigrant climate. >>continue

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Hate Crimes Against Latinos Fueled by Groups, Commentators?

An editorial yesterday highlighted the new FBI statistics showing a 35 percent increase in hate crimes against Latinos between 2003 and 2006. In addition to the FBI statistics, the editorial points out that a Southern Poverty Law Center reports that hate groups are on the rise as well. They counted a total of 888 nationwide--44 more than it counted in 2006 and 286 since 2000. 11 of the 888 are in Oregon.

What is fueling the hate?

“extreme sentiments, once the exclusive province of white supremacists, have begun to seep into the mainstream. They’ve become the common verbal currency of nativist immigration-reform activists, talk radio hosts, cable TV commentators and even elected officials who smear immigrants as criminal aliens, invaders, terrorists and cockroaches — human detritus whose dangerous, lawless presence must be swept from this country.”

The editorial falls short of naming those “immigration reform activists", talk radio hosts and cable TV commentators and even elected officials. We can be sure that Oregon has at least a few talk radio show hosts and a couple "immigration reform groups" that fit the modus operandi.

The solution to the climate of hate we find ourselves?

“In this year’s elections, Americans should choose candidates for both Congress and the White House who will help make true reform a reality and begin healing a nation that has been too long and too deeply torn over immigration.”

Based on the rejection of anti-immigrant candidates like Mitt Romney and Tom Tancredo, it appears Americans are trying to head in that direction.

Read the entire editorial here

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Oregon Employers Form Immigrant Rights Coalition

in the news

According to this morning's Eugene Register-Guard, employers from around Oregon have formed an immigrant rights coalition called the Oregon Essential Worker Immigration Coalition. The purpose of the coalition to to give employers a collective in a debate that has anti-immigrant opponents on one side, and Hispanic and immigrant-rights activists on the other. The coalition will launch its research, public-relations and lobbying efforts.

Oregon employers launch immigrant-rights coalition
By David Steves The Register-Guard
January 23, 2008

SALEM — Restaurants, nurseries and other Oregon employers are jumping into the state’s roiling immigration debate, bringing pro-business credentials to the fight against proposals seen as hostile to foreign-born workers and their families.

The Oregon Essential Worker Immigration Coalition is planning a February launch of its research, public-relations and lobbying efforts — all meant to add the voices of employers to a debate that’s largely pitted illegal-immigration opponents on one side, and Hispanic and immigrant-rights activists on the other. >>read entire article

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New Ad Shows Negative Effects of Anti-immigrant Laws

A community organization, Mexicans & Americans Thinking Together (www.matt.org), developed a 30 second commercial called “Drive Them Out” for a coalition of businesses in Northern Virginia.

The ad tells the story of Riverside, New Jersey where a law was passed penalizing any business that hired undocumented workers and any tenant that provided housing to these immigrants and their families.

After 1 year, with 75% of the immigrants leaving town and 45% of the businesses closing their doors, the city rescinded the law in effort to avoid disaster due to its failing economy.

The commercial concludes with a message for NoVa residents: “Today, dozens of other municipalities are re-thinking such laws. The moral, Virginia let’s be careful what we wish for.”

The ad can be viewed here

Thanks to KJ over at ImmigrationProg Blog for passing this story along.

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Oregonians Rally against Rules Denying Licenses to Immigrants

Over 3000 Oregon Residents gathered at the State Capitol during a legislative hearing in Salem today to protest new rules that will deny licenses to undocumented immigrants. With hundreds on the steps of the Capitol, three rooms were filled to capacity with people watching the hearing on closed circuit TV.

The hearing was conducted by the Oregon State Senate and House interim Transportation Committees to discuss the proposed legal presence requirement to Oregon driver's licenses set to be put in place next month. The vast majority testifying at the hearing today were opposed to the new rules.

The new license restrictions comes from an executive order Governor Kulongoski signed in November allowing the Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles to limit documents accepted from immigrants. Currently under Oregon law, all residents of Oregon, regardless of legal status, can obtain a driver's license.

Among the testimonies, concerns were raised about the threat to public safety and security if licenses are denied to immigrants. While others discussed consequences to Oregon’s economy if immigrants can’t drive to work, and how families will be affected when the restrictions are put in place in February.

This afternoon’s hearing is the first of several scheduled leading up to the implementation date of the Governor’s new ID plan. The next hearing is scheduled for the 22nd of January.

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FAIR Exposed as a Bona Fide Hate Group

Yesterday, the Southern Poverty Law Center released a report exposing the anti-immigrant organization, Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), as a "bona fide hate group".

In their report, The Teflon Nativists: FAIR Marked by ties of White Supremacy, SPLC cites FAIR's long time anti-Latino and anti-Catholic attitudes and history of questionable statements and associations.

Among the findings of the report, SPLC showed that 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.

Read their complete report Here

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Oregon Voter-Roll Complaint Doesn’t Stand Up To The Facts

Last Week, former State Rep. Jeff Kropf, Voting Restrictionist Ruth Bendl, Jim Ludwick, President of anti-immigrant group Oregonians for Immigration Reform and anti-tax activist Jason Williams held a press conference about their beliefs that Oregon's Voter rolls are saturated with voters using “false addresses, improbable or impossible birth dates and ones allowed to register without showing any proof of identification”. They cited examples such as thousands of people registered to vote at one address to birth dates like 11/11/1111 printed on voter registration cards.

According to The Oregonian, Secretary of State Bill Bradbury’s office responded the following day saying that “The examples provided Thursday did not appear to show anything out of compliance with election laws”. They added saying that, “The examples included many inactive voters, who are listed in the two-year-old statewide voter database but are not among the nearly 2 million Oregonians who are eligible to vote”.

In an Albany Democrat Herald article yesterday, State Elections Director John Lindback disputed all claims by the group as "unfounded". Addressing the issues the group discussed in their press conference, Lindback added that the group of four never approached his office about the so-called problems saying, "I wish we could get them to talk to us, but they shoot first and ask questions later”.

The press conference held by the group of four last Thursday was a failed attempt to play on anti-immigrant sentiment to bash Oregon's Voter Registration process and the successes of Vote-By-Mail. With Anti-immigrant Initiative #112 having a provision which would eliminate Oregon’s current process regarding registering voters, the group was clearly hoping to generate interest as a "fix" to all the now unfounded problems they cited in their press conference. Unfortunately for them, Mr. Lindback skewered them with the facts.

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