The following editorial is from the Lesbian and Gay news website washblade.com. It is typical of the pro-illegal immigration opinion pieces that are currently blanketing local and national Gay media. All claim to be written by Hispanic Lesbians or Gay men, and they tend to share specific talking points:

*That Gay people and illegal aliens both suffer from unjust prejudice.
*That some illegal aliens are Gay.
*That sexual orientation and HIV discrimination against Gay immigrants. parallels the denial of amnesty to illegal aliens.
*That Gay people and illegal aliens both suffer from being "in the closet."
*That the Religious Right is the enemy of both Gay people and illegal aliens, so the two groups should join forces.

This effort to recruit Lesbians and Gay men to the illegal alien cause is so concerted, I strongly suspect it is not part of any "grass roots" movement. It is being driven and funded by corporate and political interests who crave cheap labor and open borders. I'm posting an example of this propaganda to alert alipac members to a media campaign they may not have known about.


OPINION
Justice isn’t about ‘just us’ (Gay)
It’s time for immigrants and gays to stand together, end scapegoating and fight for each other’s rights

By RANDI ROMO
Friday, May 05, 2006

AS A MEXICAN-American lesbian, I have been watching with great interest the debates over immigrant rights as well as the ongoing struggle for fair and equal treatment by gay people.

Because of my place in both of these worlds, I am often privy firsthand to the intolerance and prejudice of some members of these groups toward the another.

From many of my Latinos, I hear the arguments and the support for laws that continue to deny gay people equal rights. At the same time, I hear many gays expressing strong anti-immigrant sentiments, as well as calling undocumented workers law-breakers who deserve no consideration for citizenship.

It is a constant source of amazement to me to see how quickly each group embraces and actively contributes to the lifespan of injustice suffered by the other. All the while, they are each bemoaning their own ill treatment at the hands of unjust U.S. laws.

These webs of prejudice have been carefully spun to keep the disenfranchised too entangled to see clearly how they are being played against each other. Right now, while the immigration issue is on the front burner, the religious right is gearing up for another run at a federal marriage amendment targeting lesbian and gay Americans, writing discrimination into the U.S. Constitution.

IN ADDITION TO setting
immigrants and gays against one another to perpetuate prejudice, there is an attempt to sway the opinion of African Americans. They are being encouraged to participate in activities that hurt others’ quest for justice.

There has been a deliberate courting of African Americans by both anti-immigrant and anti-gay factions—often the same groups and individuals—to buy into rhetoric that paints immigrants as "stealing" jobs from black and gays as undeserving of equality based on religious beliefs.

On the one hand, immigrants are being told that unless they are citizens they cannot have rights, while gays are being told that despite being citizens, they cannot have rights. Each one helps keep the other down, while African Americans are encouraged to step on both groups, while continuing to face racism themselves.

WHAT THAT LEAVES us with is a
lot of people who are systemically discriminated against fighting each other for top rung on the ladder of oppression. Like crabs in a barrel, we keep pulling one another down, doing the dirty work for a system whose power structure depends on our remaining divided and actively opposing each other.

Many Latinos oppose equal rights for gays as a matter of religious belief. Amazingly enough, many of them agree with the anti-immigrant faction’s position on denying equal rights to gays. This despite the fact that their oppressors are also intent on preventing any form of humane immigration reform or opening a path to citizenship for the people already in the country.

Contributing to all of this is the fact that people are scared, and fear is the best tool to keep oppressed people from joining efforts. And it’s working.

Immigrants and gays are the sacrificial lambs, diverting attention from the real problems, like jobs that pay living wages, access to health care, quality education and safe and affordable housing.

Immigrants and gays actually have a lot in common. In many jurisdictions, if you are undocumented or gay you can be fired from or refused a job; refused the rental or sale of a home or be evicted; forced to live in the shadows/closet; targeted by legislators seeking to gain political power; violently physically and verbally assaulted; forced to pay taxes with no rights; denied access to a variety of government programs; and denied a legal marriage license.

It is a time to stand in solidarity, to bring both immigrants and gays out of the shadows. It is time to call for an end to the scapegoating and call for fair and just treatment on immigration reform, creating a path to citizenship for those who are here, as well as providing equal rights and responsibilities for gay men and lesbians.

It is a time for us to take responsibility for how our respective communities have contributed to the injustice of the other. Now more than ever, we must come to understand that justice isn’t about "just us," it is about justice for all.