Thread: Lawmaker, state employee involved in Web site some call raci

Here's another one.

http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/15678920.htm

Posted on Wed, Oct. 04, 2006
Lawmaker, state employee involved in Web site some call racist
SHELIA BYRD
Associated Press
JACKSON, Miss. - A Mississippi lawmaker and a state employee are affiliated with an anti-illegal immigration organization that operates a Web site some national advocacy groups describe as a racist attack against the Hispanic community.

Rep. Mike Lott, R-Petal, is the executive director of the Mississippi Federation for Immigration Reform and Enforcement, a nonprofit based in Jackson. S. Ross Aldridge, a spokesman for State Auditor Phil Bryant, is an incorporator of the nonprofit, according to the secretary of state's office.

Aldridge told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he resigned from MFIRE's board of directors on Tuesday "because I didn't want to give an appearance of a conflict of interest."

Aldridge said Bryant, a Republican expected to run for lieutenant governor in 2006, knew he was a member of the organization.

Bryant's office released a report in February that concluded Mississippi spends $25 million a year on health care, education and prison costs for about 49,000 illegal immigrants in the state. Aldridge said he was not involved in gathering the data for the report.

Heidi Beirich, a spokeswoman for the Southern Poverty Law Center, said Aldridge's association with MFIRE "calls into question the objectivity" of the report. She said MFIRE's Web site mocks Hispanics.

Among the images on the Web site are a picture of three young Hispanic men throwing gang signs and a tattooed Hispanic man with a caption underneath that reads, in part, he's "only looking for a better life in America, like hundreds of thousands of others just like him." There's also a link to a news article about a 5-year-old girl who was raped by a Hispanic man.

"It's filled with misinformation and it targets and demonizes immigrants," said Michele Waslin, director of immigration policy research at the National Council of La Raza, the nation's largest Hispanic civil rights organization.

Lott called the Web site an educational tool for voters and lawmakers. Lott said the site has links to several news articles and does not only target Hispanics, but all illegal immigrants.

"Our frustration with the issue is equally as much with the employers who hire people who are not here legally and with our government, which makes resources available, encouraging those who are here illegally to stay here," Lott said.

Lott said his group advocates one side of the illegal immigration argument just as the Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance, which was co-founded by state Rep. Jim Evans, supports the other.

MIRA works to organize and educate immigrants about jobs and defends them when they're victims of discrimination, said Evans, D-Jackson.

Evans accused MFIRE of being the "Ku Klux Klan reconstituted," using tactics similar to those employed to terrorize blacks in the South decades ago.

Evans, a member of the House since 1992, said MIRA is trying to determine whether any legal or ethics laws have been violated by Lott and Aldridge by being members of the federation.

"My belief is that these organizations existing in themselves is a conflict of interest to democracy and justice and human rights," said Evans.

Unless there's money involved, the ethics law would not be violated, said Tom Hood, executive director of the Mississippi Ethics Commission.

Lott said he does not receive a salary as executive director of MFIRE and mostly serves in an advisory role. He authored several immigration reform bills that died during the 2006 regular session.

Lott, who has served in the House since 2000, said he would file bills in 2007 that would mirror federal laws that require Mississippi employers to only hire U.S. citizens or face penalties for any violations.

Lott said the illegal immigrant population is growing in the district he represents in central Mississippi.

"They're looking for communities where they feel like they can be accepted," said Lott. "As Mississippians are becoming more educated, they are becoming more and more vocal. They don't like their taxpayer money going to citizens who are not here legally."

Waslin said the country's immigration debate has led to numerous anti-immigrant organizations springing up across the country. With this being an election year, there have also been a lot anti-immigration campaign advertisements from both Democrats and Republicans.

"In general from these groups I see a lot of anger. I see a lot of blame, but I don't see a lot of constructive ideas," Waslin said.

ON THE NET

Mississippi Federation for Immigration Reform and Enforcement, http://www.mfire.org

Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance, http://www.yourmira.org

Southern Poverty Law Center, http://www.splcenter.org

National Council of La Raza, http://www.nclr.org

Another Associated Press hit piece smear campaign. What a load of horse crap.

W