Thread: ALIPAC in Chicago Tribune immigration debate goes worldwide

June 03, 2008]

Immigration debate goes worldwide (web)

(Chicago Tribune (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) CHICAGO _ Minutes after word broke about a Nickelodeon TV special on children affected by immigration raids, messages like "What part of illegal don't you understand!?!" and "Deport them all!" bombarded Web sites and blogs.

Then, in an increasingly common reaction, bloggers from "pro-migrant" sites such as Citizen Orange and The Unapologetic Mexican countered by ridiculing the show's critics.

By the end of the day, a Google search for the documentary was more likely to highlight the pro-legalization side of the debate than the anti-immigrant side. Victory, for the moment, was theirs

But the war is just getting started on this increasingly influential front of the immigration debate.

In what is becoming a rhetorical echo chamber for anyone brave enough to type the word "immigration" into their search engine, the Internet is filling up with clashes _ often racially tinged _ over deportations, border security and the country's general future in the face of changing demographics.

Both sides hope to build popular momentum for a renewed fight over immigration reform during the next presidential administration.

Squaring off in blogs, Facebook or YouTube videos, they see themselves immersed in a cultural battle for the ages and are enlisting students and seniors alike in volunteer squads charged with advancing their side of the argument whenever and wherever possible.

"I've got 80-year-olds that are ... Internet fighter pilots," boasted William Gheen, president of the North Carolina-based Americans for Legal Immigration Political Action Committee, a conservative group whose Web campaign helped derail immigration reform legislation in Congress last year by prompting thousands of faxes, e-mails and phone calls to legislators.

"Some of them, when they first came on, were scared to death to even interact in this media," Gheen said. "But I've watched them grow. Necessity is the mother of invention, and we're inventing tactics as we go."

The dominance on the Internet of conservative groups like ALI-PAC has moved pro-migrant groups to get more active, prompting conservatives to escalate their efforts.

After failing last summer to win legalization for the country's estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants, immigrant advocates realized the battle was lost largely on the Web _ today's version of the office water cooler.

A study by The Opportunity Agenda, a New York-based social justice organization, showed the presence of anti-legalization groups last summer on social networking sites, collectively known as Web 2.0, was twice that of pro-immigrant groups. Some conservative discussion forums on Facebook have dwarfed the opposition with as many as 18,000 members.

"We haven't yet been able to win the hearts and minds of the average American and that has to happen before legislation passes," said Jacquelyn Mahendra, who coordinates a Web campaign for the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights.

Generally, both sides fall into three categories: e-advocacy blogs calling on readers to pressure legislators, human interest sites that tap into frustrations over federal raids or illegal immigration, and creative, sometimes comical games and videos meant to win over the unsuspecting Web surfer who may still be undecided over immigration reform.

(EDITORS: BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM)

The latter group ranges from conservative TV and radio host Glenn Beck's 2006 cartoon "History of Illegal Immigration," attracting nearly 200,000 YouTube "views," to the Web video game "ICED" _ a three-dimensional journey of the pressures faced by deported immigrants that has been downloaded more than 90,000 times since last summer.

Meanwhile, a "Great Immigration Debate" cartoon that mocks both sides has reaped nearly 3 million "views" on YouTube and a 2007 "Webby Award" nomination.

(EDITORS: END OPTIONAL TRIM)

Immigrants themselves, frustrated by how they're portrayed, have also entered the fray.

In Chicago, one such blogger sure to incite reaction is Flor Crisostomo, an illegal immigrant who has sought sanctuary inside a church since January.

From her Northwest Side perch, Crisostomo, 29, has begun posting bilingual screeds against federal raids, news of her personal stand, and critiques of U.S.-Mexico trade policies that, she argues, have spurred border jumping.

"This site will be for the whole world, including groups who are anti-immigrant," said Crisostomo, who once loaded pallets in Pilsen and now also has a MySpace page. "More than anything it will be to educate people why we're in this resistance."

(EDITORS: BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM)

Prenal Lal, 23, a Fijian immigrant in Northern California, is among a growing number of "Dreamers" hoping to show the debate's complexity.

Their "A Dream Deferred" Web site is built around the "Dream Act" bill that proposes temporary legal status for undocumented college students. The bill has languished in Congress.

Among the site's links to blogs and videos, an on-line petition calls on each of the presidential candidates to make the Dream Act a top priority during the first 100 days of a new administration. So far, it has just over 8,100 signatures _ a response that has Lal wondering how much influence she and her fellow "Dreamers" wield.

"I can't earn a living," she said. "I would like to see more people get active in this."

(EDITORS: END OPTIONAL TRIM)

While small, such efforts are cumulatively weaving a Web network that can be used for political organizing and fundraising, said Frank Sharry, executive director of America's Voice, a Washington-based strategy group for immigration reform.

"It's just such a potent tool," said Sharry, whose staff has been meeting with political Web firms to devise a national strategy. "Over time, what we'd love to see happen is have bloggers who swarm the way anti-immigrant bloggers do and, eventually, challenge lawmakers to act and debate strategy and policy."

To all such pro-migrant ambitions, Gheen and other conservatives say: Bring it on.

"We are light years ahead of the competition," said Gheen, a former political consultant who sees his group as part of a "populist movement" of conservative talk show hosts, legislators and others who report what mainstream media doesn't about immigration.

ALI-PAC has been a persistent voice on the Web, posting videos and receiving 5 million hits on its Web site in May, according to Gheen.

With other aggressive blogs on both sides, the group has attracted extremists who've charged the debate with a rising level of hateful, violent speech.

"You look at these blogs and there's some horrendous stuff going back and forth," Gheen acknowledged, adding that his staff of 14 moderates only what's on the ALI-PAC site. "You've got (militant Latinos) posting `Kill all whites' and you've got white nationals over there posting `Kill all browns.' It's out of control. It's crazy."

http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2008/06/03/3479631.htm

I'm not really happy with this last part of the article. The topic we were discussing was the radical elements over on Youtube, not here at ALIPAC.

Do you folks think this writer confused that? Does it make is sound like ALIPAC has attracted radical elements or is it clear we were speaking about other blogs?

W

I think the writer threw ALIPAC a bit under the bus and that casual readers may actually think that racial extremists are posting on our board.

W: I tend to agree with you.

The author was doing a pretty balanced objective coverage and then puts the proverbial 'banana peel' out at the end for readers to slip on. It's really a dirty little trick or slip-up in my view.

Overall, though, it's not bad coverage for the most part (minus the disguised parting shot.... )

Footer info pertaining to article above:

(c) 2008, Chicago Tribune.

Visit the Chicago Tribune on the Internet at http://www.chicagotribune.com/

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

_____

PHOTO (from MCT Photo Service, 202-383-6099):

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

Copyright ? 2008 Chicago Tribune

With other aggressive blogs on both sides, the group has attracted extremists who've charged the debate with a rising level of hateful, violent speech.

This sentence (above) is particularly confusing and ambiguous.
'the group' (??? - which group?)

It's a little confusing at the end because the writer is not clear. Maybe he did this on purpose, but I don't think it will hurt us.

That last 2 paragraphs don't sit well with me. I think your words may have been twisted a bit by this writer. Those last two paragraphs present a misleading representation of ALIPAC. Just my opinion.

That’s Chicago media for you!
Most of the time when it appears they are agreeing with you, they really are not, they are just setting you up questionable ending.

Well, obviously ALIPAC would never put up with anyone that advocated killing all whites or killing all browns on our site as those views are completely against what we stand for.

Our group has not attracted those elements.

Those elements we discussed are over on Youtube, not at ALIPAC.

W