By Maribel Hastings
November 16, 2009
While Congressman Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) has called supporters of immigration reform to participate in a national conversation on Nov. 18, the anti-immigrant organization Americans for Legal Immigration (ALIPAC) is holding “Tea Party” protests in various states this Saturday.
With all the noise they make and the fear they inspire in Congress, one might assume the protestors numbered in the millions — but ALIPAC’s Web site lists, as of today, 52 planned “tea parties” and around 4,500 people anticipated to attend.
Nevertheless, anti-immigrant groups remain a stumbling block for immigration reform — and an opponent against whom supporters have to stay on guard.
This sector includes organizations, movements and institutions that range from extremist neo-Nazi groups to respected Washington, D.C.-based think tanks. There are also the legislators who often seem to be spokespeople for these organizations, some of whom make up the House of Representatives’ Immigration Reform Caucus, composed of 88 Republican and 5 Democratic members of Congress.
William Gheen, founder of ALIPAC, says that he hopes that the events of this Saturday “combined with our lobying [sic] efforts and support for campaigns will stop these attempts to destroy America through mass illegal immigration and amnesty.”
Their efforts
In 2006, when the Sensenbrenner proposal — which would have criminalized undocumented immigrants — sparked massive marches and protests, the anti-immigrant movement found itself caught off guard and could only muster a feeble response.
But when debate over reform began in the Senate in 2007, they had organized themselves to use the Internet effectively, and orchestrated massive campaigns to call and email Congressional offices.
They also forged tacit alliances with ultraconservative radio and television talk-show hosts, who continue to support them, and with so-called “journalists.”
As of this week, at least, one fewer legitimate media outlet will be providing a platform for anti-immigrant views. On Wednesday, Lou Dobbs announced his resignation from the channel–effective immediately. His departure came after months of pressure from a national coalition urging CNN to “Drop Dobbs” for disseminating lies and stereotypes about immigrants and Latinos. For years, Dobbs used his program as a bully pulpit to attack the idea of comprehensive immigration reform.
Their current status
After taking credit for the defeat of immigration reform in 2007, the anti-immigrant movement saw the rise of Barack Obama — a Democrat, an African-American, the son of an immigrant father, and a supporter of immigration reform — to the presidency in 2008. Furthermore, they saw the majority of their candidates in federal, state and local elections go down in defeat.
But Obama’s public-opinion “honeymoon” is over and immigration opponents are hoping to exploit the economic crisis, the spectacle of this summer’s health-care reform “town halls,” and divisions among Democrats to revive their agenda.
Accusations of racism
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a civil rights advocacy group, the core of the anti-immigrant movement is interconnected–funded by a single source.
In its report “The Nativist Lobby: Three Faces of Intolerance,” the SPLC reports that the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), and NumbersUSA were all created by restrictionist John Tanton, who has been linked to the Pioneer Fund, an institution that has conducted studies designed to prove the superiority of the white race.
According to SPLC’s Mark Potok, FAIR is the lobbying arm of the anti-immigrant movement; CIS is the “independent” think tank; and NumbersUSA organizes the base.
2009, a different story
The immigration opponents boast they’re ready for the battle of 2010. Their argument: With 16 million people unemployed across the country, “Americans will never accept another amnesty.”
But Rich Stolz, director of the national Reform Immigration for America campaign, points out that this time, advocates for immigration reform are ready to neutralize their attacks, drawing on the political power that Latinos and immigrant communities demonstrated in the 2008 elections.
“The campaign is gaining momentum and is active across the country in ways that would never have been possible before,” says Stolz.
Ali Noorani, director of the National Immigration Forum, concurs that this time there are more allies of reform ready to implement a three-prong strategy: “mobilize the base, win the middle, and marginalize the opposition.”
“Never before have we been able to do so much and engage so many allies. We have an incredible amount of work ahead, but we’re confident,” says Noorani.
Rafael Prieto Zartha contributed to this article
House Immigration Subcommittee Ranking Member Steve King R-IA, with Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Lamar Smith R-TX led a forum, questioning whether all immigration should be stopped–legal and illegal, until the country was back from unemployment insolvency. E-Verify could become mandatory if NumbersUSA President Roy Beck’s urgent plea be recognized by Congressional conferees, who listened intently to the horrendous jobless statistics of American workers. Evidence was provided that unemployment was steadily climbing, beyond a 12.8 rate and millions of people were looking to the US government for relief of some kind? Within a group of professionals and academic groups testifying was Dr. Steven Camarota, Vanderbilt Political Science professor Dr. Carol Swain, and Jerry Kammer an investigative reporter with the Copley News Service.
Kammer stated,” Here is strong evidence that the company had a preference for illegal immigrants because they were more likely to accept low wages and poor conditions and they were vulnerable to what a federal court called the company’s “intense and widespread coercion” aimed at defeating the union’s organizing efforts.” This has become widespread problem throughout the US, which seems to be accepted by many politicians. He also described the aftermath of raids at Swift six plants. He said, “All six facilities resumed work on the day of the raids, though at a reduced pace. To replenish its depleted ranks, Swift launched a campaign to recruit American citizens, green card holders, and refugees. It raised wages, provided bonuses to new workers, and paid relocation expenses. As a result, all the Swift plants were able to resume full production within four or five months. Kammer also detailed the industries’ response to the ICE raids that provided an opportunity to test the claim, often heard in the immigration discussions which many US companies have to employ illegal immigrants because Americans are unwilling to do the work? Kammer however, observed that the raids had a profound traumatic experience for the illegal families that were affected by the raids. BUT IT IS ALSO MADE CLEAR THAT ENFORCEMENT HAD A POSITIVE EFFECT IN THE LIVES OF AMERICAN CITIZENS AND PERMANENT RESIDENTS WHO NEEDED AND WANTED THE JOBS—ANY JOBS?
The group all determined that unemployment in American was so bad that all jobs being held by unauthorized employees, if vacated by enforcement, would be filled readily? Dr. Swain’s testimony focused on the impact of immigration, specifically illegal immigration, had on Black and Hispanic Americans who were in the legal workforce? Dr. Camarota’s testimony focused on the fact that there is no evidence of a worker shortage at the bottom end of the labor market. He also said that there is a huge supply of less-educated workers, and it’s that group that’s been most affected by the current job recession. Kammer’s testimony had focused on the positive impact that work-site enforcement raids have had on American workers. He talked about how the raid at the world’s largest pork processing plant in Smithfield, North Carolina freed up jobs for African Americans. It seems that, “jobs Americans won’t do anymore” doesn’t hold water? As Krammer added, “I was frequently told by current and former Swift workers, these are jobs Americans are willing to do–if they are provided decent wages and working conditions.”
In final deliberations Kammer stated, “We have often heard from farmers in California and Arizona that if they improved wages enough to attract legal labor, Americans would be confronted with the $5 head of lettuce. But agricultural economist Philip Martin destroyed that myth by showing that since fieldworkers’ wages account for only six percent of the retail cost of lettuce and other crops, their wages could rise sharply without a major effect at the checkout counter. Similarly, the labor of meatpacking workers accounts for only seven to nine percent of the retail cost of beef and pork. So if wages were increased by a third, the cost at the grocery story would only rise by three percent, at the most.”
Unequivocally we must recall that when Comprehensive Immigration Reform was passed in 1986, that millions in agriculture and other poorly paid industry labor vanished, to only reappear in the mainstream of the job market, taking jobs from low-skilled blacks, Caucasian and Hispanic workers. Employment normally open to senior citizens, students, single mothers, veterans suddenly disappeared, given as it was to the newcomers. E-VERIFY WILL NOT ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN? E-Verify will not be the whole answer, but random checks by Police using the 287(G) police law, to be trained in immigration rules of apprehension are a strong counterpart? Then a much more streamlined E-Verify will deliver a nationwide commitment of ICE and immigration audits to do random checks on any business. It would keep pariah employers looking over their shoulder for agents of ICE. Popularity has grown with each upgrade of E-Verify and the need for expensive deportation could be a thing of the past? Penalties should not be lenient anymore and those employers, who take the risk of knowingly hiring illegal workers, should be dealt with severely.
In this disastrous recession our politicians must be savoring being unemployed themselves, if they force America into another Amnesty. How can they even conceive such an idea when so many of the legal population is wondering how they are going to feed their family? Every last one of them must be hounded down and told, DO NOT SIGN ON FOR A 2009-10 AMNESTY? THERE WILL BE NASTY REPERCUSSION IN THE VOTING BOOTH, STARTING WITH SENATOR HARRY REID OF NEVADA NEXT YEAR? MAJORITY SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI WILL BE CLOSE BEHIND FOR THE WRECKING BALL? Warn all politicians at 202-224-3121, or go to their offices in person. Read about corruption and sanctuary city policies at JUDICIAL WATCH. CAPWEB, ALIPAC, CAPSWEB, AMERICAN PATROL & THE DARK SIDE OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION. Tell them E-Verify must be made permanent, to start the “ATTRITION” enforcement procedure for every illegal worker in America? What can you do for AMERICA? YOU CAN USE YOUR VOTE! VOTING–OUT SEN. HARRY REID WILL BE A GOOD START AND ALARM THEM ALL! We cannot afford overpopulation growth, or corrupt politicians pandering to illegal immigrant and open border proponents anymore?