Thread: TN- Anti-illegal immigration advocates deny that they are mo

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs....WS01/605280349

Race sparks border debate
Anti-illegal immigration advocates deny that they are motivated by racism and hatred

By HOLLY EDWARDS
Staff Writer


Despite sharply different views, activists on both sides of the immigration debate have reached the same conclusion: America is being poisoned.

One side believes Hispanics streaming into the country illegally will destroy American culture, while the other fears rising racism and bigotry will desecrate American ideals.




"There's an inherent contradiction between the racist rhetoric I hear about Hispanics and the Christian values that are supposed to be leading the hearts of Americans," said Yuri Cunza, president of the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. "It's time to learn from the past dramatic and terrible consequences of racist thinking and move ahead."

But activists fighting for tougher immigration laws dismiss accusations of racism and say their primary aim is to reclaim their country.

"I don't care what race you are, no one should be rewarded for breaking the law," said Gene Rutledge, a retired Border Patrol agent who lives in Clarksville.

On Web sites, talk radio shows and in interviews, anti-illegal immigration activists describe Hispanic migrants as lawless, disease-ridden "invaders" waging an undeclared war against the United States.

But anti-illegal immigration activists insist race has nothing to do with their views. Some point to Rutledge's wife, Delfina Espinoza, whose father emigrated from Mexico legally in the 1950s.

"The illegals coming to this country are turning the nation into a Third World country," said Espinoza, who met her husband, when he stopped her near the Mexican border, incorrectly suspecting she might be an illegal immigrant. "They take no pride in America and have no respect for anyone."

Destroys 'our way of life'

Beyond concerns about unemployment, declining wages and over-tapped public services, many activists say their primary fear is that the sheer number of Hispanic migrants will drown American culture.

Theresa Harmon, a founder of Tennesseans for Responsible Immigration Policies, said there is nothing wrong with viewing the American way of life as superior and trying to preserve it.

In her opinion, Harmon said, illegal Hispanic immigrants don't share the American values of education, home ownership and respect for the law and are destroying middle class neighborhoods throughout Nashville.

For the most part, she said, they want to impose their culture on America rather than learn English or assimilate into American society.

"I feel like my forefathers fought and bled and died to give us this country, so no one should come here and try to shove something down my throat," she said. "You can't fault people for being patriotic and loving their country."

Throughout history, Harmon said, countries that have accepted large numbers of immigrants have seen bloodshed.

Many books and articles touted by the anti-illegal immigration movement carry dire warnings of impending race wars as hordes of Hispanics bent on re-conquering America convert middle-class suburbs into Mexican barrios.

"What you are seeing happen is the destruction of our way of life," she said. "Anytime you see a nation go over to an entirely different culture and different nationality, you're going to see a fight."

She said she was brought to tears by the changes illegal Hispanic immigrants have brought to her childhood neighborhood in the Thompson Lane area.

"The area is starting to look like a Mexican barrio," she said. "The upscale restaurants are closed, all the signs are in Spanish, and all you see going in and out are Mexicans."

There is also a growing sense of outrage among some African-Americans who blame illegal immigrants for rising job loss and crime in the black community.

A poll by the Pew Center for Hispanic Studies found that while African-Americans tend to be more sympathetic to the plight of Hispanic immigrants, they also tend to feel more threatened by job loss and declining wages.

Many blacks also bristle at comparisons between the civil rights and pro-immigration movements. And like others in the anti-illegal immigration camp, some see the recent immigrant rights rallies as an aggressive demand for privileges illegal immigrants don't deserve.

"Slaves helped build this country, and what you have here are invaders who come here with arrogance and demand to get all the things we worked for," said Michael Holt, 51, a Bordeaux native who retired from an aircraft part manufacturing plant in Nashville.

As Holt sees it, the swelling anti-immigrant sentiment in the country is an encouraging sign of new unity between whites and blacks.

"For once in this country's history, we have black and white people joining forces against a common enemy," he said.

Accusations of extremism

On the other side of the debate, some civil rights groups point to parallels between anti-immigration propaganda and arguments long made by white supremacist groups.

While most anti-illegal immigration activists aren't extremists, there are disturbing signs that white supremacists have infiltrated the movement, said Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that tracks hate groups.

Anti-illegal immigration leaders insist they have no connection to white supremacist hate groups and take vigilant measures to make sure they never do. Harmon said she threatened to take legal action when the National Vanguard, a white supremacist group, posted an article and pictures on its Web site of Tennesseans for Responsible Immigration Policies event.

She said her views on illegal immigration have nothing to do with racial bias or negative stereotypes.

"My grandmother is a Cherokee Indian, and the Cherokee people are an example of what happens when you don't secure your borders," she said, adding that two of her best friends are black.

Many leaders of the movement view the charges of racism as an effort by politically correct liberals, aided by left-wing media, to shut them up and close down the debate.

Others embrace the term. A message posted on an anti-immigration Web site called Our Way of Life defines racism as "a reasoned response to the perceived harm done to one's own race by an alien race" that is "generally speaking, a good thing."

For Potok and others who gauge racist sentiment in the country, the combination of racial intolerance, conspiracy theories and a growing group of armed citizens guarding the border could quickly lead to violence.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation reported nine hate crimes targeting Hispanics in 2004, the most recent year for which such information is available.

According to the law center, Hispanic immigration has been the driving force behind the rising number of hate groups across the country, which have grown from 602 in 2000 to 803 last year.

A recently released report by the Anti-Defamation League cited more than 2,500 hate crimes against Hispanics from 2000 to 2004. Two of the hate crimes the report described occurred in Tennessee.

In Blount County last year, two men were sentenced to four and a half years in prison for vandalizing and painting Nazi symbols on a Mexican food store in Maryville. Also last year, a federal judge sentenced former correction officer and KKK member Daniel James Schertz of South Pittsburg, Tenn., to 14 years in prison after he pled guilty to making five pipe bombs to blow up a bus carrying Mexican workers from Tennessee to Florida.

The ADL report blamed extremist Web sites and talk radio shows for fanning the flames of violence. Among those quoted in the report is a New Jersey radio host who told his listeners how "terrific" it would be to trap illegal immigrants in steel cages and beat them to death.

While immigrant rights activists say the rabid tone of some talk radio shows is inciting racial tension, others say the belligerent attitude of some Hispanics is sparking the animosity.

Local radio host Steve Gill, a fervent proponent of tougher border security measures, said many people were outraged when they saw Hispanics carrying signs that said "This is our country" at some of the immigrant right rallies.

In his view, Hispanics are guilty of racism when they demand an exemption from federal law that would apply only to them.

"They would never say we should bring cruise ships full of undereducated, disease-ridden, impoverished Haitians to this country to undercut the wages of the Hispanic community," Gill said.

The anger reflected on the Internet and the radio stems from the sense many feel that the country is being invaded, he said. While Gill said he's never told his listeners to use violence against Hispanics, he understands why some feel there should be a military response.

"If 100,000 Mexicans rushed the border at the same time and if people looked at the situation the way it really is, no one would call it anything other than an invasion, and we would send in the military and shoot people," Gill said.

Local radio host Phil Valentine has also been active in the anti-illegal immigration movement. More than 1,500 people turned out for a "De-Magnetize America" rally hosted by Valentine in April.

'Not what this country is supposed to be about'

Jose Gonzalez, executive director of Conexion Americas, a nonprofit organization in Nashville designed to help Hispanics integrate into the community, said he is saddened by the increasingly violent anti-Hispanic sentiment he encounters.

Gonzalez said immigrant rights advocates are fighting for new laws to protect immigrants and allow them to move here legally to work, not an exemption from the law.

"One of the things this whole debate has done is bring out some emotions a lot of people didn't know this country had," he said.

"This is how sad it is. I heard a radio talk show host say the solution to immigration is to put the alligators attacking people in Florida in the Rio Grande River."

He also said he discovered a video game on the Internet called "Border Patrol" in which shooting the most vulnerable Hispanic people — pregnant women and children — earns the highest number of points.

"All we're doing is building fear and racism, and that's not what this country is supposed to be about," he said. "The thing is, Tennessee values and Southern values are the same as Hispanic values. They're church, family and hard work."

Hispanics are latest to face anti-immigrant sentiment

Potok, of the Southern Poverty Law Center, said the negative stereotypes applied to Hispanic immigrants were also placed on other groups that entered the country in large numbers.

The Irish, Germans, Protestants, Catholics and Jews were all accused of spreading diseases, being disloyal to America and not speaking English correctly, he said.

"What these anti-immigration groups have in common with white supremacist groups is the belief that white people are the most endangered species on the planet," he said.

Tough talk in Washington

Fears of America's destruction are also being stoked at the highest levels of government, according to civil rights groups.

U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, a Colorado Republican who chairs the 92-member bipartisan House Immigration Reform Caucus, told a group of activists last year that illegal immigration is part of a global plot to destroy America.

Some have labeled Tancredo a racist, but he insists he's simply opposed to anyone of any color entering the country illegally. Tancredo is considered a hero by some anti-illegal immigration activists and frequently shows up at local events and rallies.

Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee has won new favor in the movement with his support of a measure to make English the national language. He also introduced legislation requiring that the national anthem, Pledge of Allegiance and all other symbols of national unity be recited in English. Alexander voted against Senate legislation Thursday that would overhaul U.S. immigration law. Alexander said it did not do enough to make the border more secure. (Tennessee's other senator, Bill Frist, the Republican Senate majority leader, voted in favor of the bill, which passed.)

One point of agreement between the two sides is that government policies allowing businesses to hire vast numbers of illegal immigrants are primarily responsible for the situation.

Both sides also blame the outsourcing of jobs and international trade agreements for damaging some Latin American economies and driving more Hispanics to America.

"No one I know is for illegal immigration, but there are economic realities, economic forces that are pushing people into the country," said Gonzalez, of Conexion Americas. "It's basic supply and demand. Jobs are available here, and demand for jobs is over there."

Many leaders of the movement view the charges of racism as an effort by politically correct liberals, aided by left-wing media, to shut them up and close down the debate.

"What these anti-immigration groups have in common with white supremacist groups is the belief that white people are the most endangered species on the planet," he said.

I'm not a racist and I know it. You are not going to stop me by calling me a racist. I will dismiss it the moment it leaves your lips. I'm mostly white, very American and I'm not going to be stopped by name calling. I'm right and I know it. You will not shame me or make me feel guilty for being white or right.

"The thing is, Tennessee values and Southern values are the same as Hispanic values. They're church, family and hard work."

Way different buddy! Starting at Chruch! He just compared Catholics to Southern Baptist. What did you bump your head on this morning?

Way different buddy! Starting at Chruch! He just compared Catholics to Southern Baptist. What did you bump your head on this morning?

LOL Dixie [/quote]

"The illegals coming to this country are turning the nation into a Third World country," said Espinoza"

Hmmmmmm...............

When the one(s) proclaiming their dislike of illegal invaders bears a Hispanic-sounding name I believe there is more impact to the anti-invader comments(s).

It is time to assume a new identity when talking with the media.

I am now Scott Salazar when performing my anti-invasion duties.

Nothing illegal in the least giving yourself any name you want..... as long as the deed isn't done to commit a crime.

Many blacks also bristle at comparisons between the civil rights and pro-immigration movements. And like others in the anti-illegal immigration camp, some see the recent immigrant rights rallies as an aggressive demand for privileges illegal immigrants don't deserve.

"Slaves helped build this country, and what you have here are invaders who come here with arrogance and demand to get all the things we worked for," said Michael Holt, 51, a Bordeaux native who retired from an aircraft part manufacturing plant in Nashville.

As Holt sees it, the swelling anti-immigrant sentiment in the country is an encouraging sign of new unity between whites and blacks.

"For once in this country's history, we have black and white people joining forces against a common enemy," he said.

this is why they tried so hard to get the black community on their side of the "debate" -- when people from different ethnic groups join together in a fight, it CANNOT be called racism.

And this country was not build by Mexicans nor was it's freedoms