LatinaLista — Last week, Latina Lista posted an item on the SAVE Act — a piece of legislation that is falling along the same lines as state legislation in being extremely punitive and trying to intimidate whole communities through stepped-up deportations and a government sanctioned media campaign.
Well, Latina Lista friend and colleague Man Eegee from Latino Politico, was in Washington over the weekend and found out the latest status of the SAVE Act.
by Man Eegee
Met with some congressional staffers yesterday and took the opportunity to ask about the SAVE Act, which the GOP is itching to get pushed through the House for a vote to create a wedge issue for the election campaign. Pro-migrant bloggers have been concerned that the enforcement-only campaign would be pushed forward with this egregious piece of legislation – continuing to separate parents from their children, incarcerate entire families without due process, etc.
According to my primary source, who asked to remain anonymous, the Dem. leadership …
(Click here, to read what Man Eegee uncovered about what the Democratic leadership is planning to do regarding the SAVE Act.)
Comment(54)
EYES OF TEXAS
I have asked before and will ask again- Why shouldn’t the U.S. have laws to protect it’s citizens from loosing jobs to foreigners? Every industrialized nation in the world has such laws and the U.S. should be no different. A lot of countries don’t even have provisions to allow foreigners to legally work in their country. Others have provisions with strict rules regulating foreign workers as to what type of work they will be doing and for how long.
We are well past the time to start protecting American jobs for American citizens and get the thousands of unemployed back to work.
Jax
It appears to me that illegals and their supporters are making way too much out of illegal’s children being left behind. I have never seen any example of these children being forced to stay here.
It would seem to me that good parents would noy abandon children andI see no reason for them to be left behind.
laura
This is why the Democratic leadership in the House – Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer, Rahm Emanuel – need to hear from us – they need our phone calls, letters and emails to firm up their backbone against the Republican (and Democrat blue dog) scapegoaters.
We should be very clear on what is coming: the economy is getting a lot worse. Republicans’ permission to the very rich, to rip off the rest of us via deregulation – see predatory lending, mortgage crisis, bank failures, gas prices while Exxon posts record profits, giveaways to drug companies – will cause much more suffering to all working people than it has so far.
Republicans and their corporate media helpers will intensify their efforts to blame “illegals” – “aliens” – “Mexicans” for this suffering, to deflect the scrutiny from their own practices. Many Americans will want to believe this.
The “Deport ’em All” calls, on which this “SAVE” bill is based, will grow much louder.
If we don’t raise our voices, these things will pass. The truth won’t matter to anyone involved. If you doubt that, read the posts of some of the regulars on this site – don’t think the Holocaust didn’t happen because it was crazy. “Deport ’em all” bills can be passed despite their being crazy. Iraq was invaded despite that being crazy.
Call your representative, call Nancy Pelosi, call your Senator.
EYES OF TEXAS
When the truth is reveled to all elected officials they will have no choice than to start representing the American citizens and not those in our country illegally. The economy is getting worse which is a good reason to make more jobs available to legal citizens who will spend their earnings in country instead of sending billions a year out of country. The more Americans off the unemployment list the stronger our economy will get. Truth is being ignored by all the pro-illegal alien supporters. Truth – 15 to 20 million people are in our country illegally. Truth – there are laws now in effect stating these 15 to 20 million are in violation of the law. Truth – our nation would be much better off without the 15 to 20 million illegals. Truth – our government knows where the majority of Americans stand on the illegal immigration and open borders issues and are going to be held accountable if they ignore us again in favor of illegal aliens and their supporters.
Frank
Americans have every right to have their jobs protected and their borders secured. They have every right to expect our immigration laws to be enforced. They have every right to expect employers who have been hiring illegal aliens to fire them and to follow our labor an immigration laws. They have every right to expect immigrants to come here legally.
Horace
If the SAVE Act is as Orwellian as Man Eegee implys, most nations are already in that state, including Mexico. We’re only enacting legislation that is at least equivalent to that of France, Great Britain, Germany, Brazil, Russia, Switzerland, etc., yet this guy Eegee condemns it. He’s just another amnista with an agenda that includes discrediting honest Americans who have justifiable concerns.
Man Eegee
thanks for spreading the word, Marisa 🙂
Texano78704
This legislation is not about saving the jobs of US citizens, otherwise George “the outsourcinging president” Bush would have been yanked out of the WH a long time ago.
This isn’t about border security either, it is about demonizing undocumented workers and the promotion of cultural supremacy.
Horace
Well, Texano, when viewed from the perspective of an Anglo, Hispancis appear well on the road to cultural hegemony from the Tiera Del Fuego to the Canadian border. I could easily point to the anti-multiculturalism of Hispanics, as they seem to be unwilling to make any concessions to the any other race/ethnic group, preferring to dominate them all. I find your statement to be laughable.
Frank
Cultural supremacy? Every country has there identifying culture. Mexico’s culture is Hispanic. Should we accuse them of cultural supremacy because they are adamant about retaining it? What a racist, ridiculous argument. So if we Americans don’t lie down and accept our own cultural genocide through illegal immigration, we are cultural supremists?
We don’t need to demonize illegal aliens. They already have demonized themselves by snubbing their noses at our immigration laws.
Texano78704
Well, Horace, coming from a person who probably has never been out of the US, much less spent any time in Latin America, I find your arm chair “observations” about “anti-multiculturalism of Hispanics” disturbingly fallacious. But that is par for the course for you.
By the way, you are wrong on another point, there are Hispanics in Canada as well.
Texano78704
“Mexico’s culture is Hispanic.”
Wow! That’s deep, Frank. Following the thought train here, one could surmise that Spain is ultimately responsible for our immigration problem, eh?
Let’s go even further with your thoughts. There should only be one culture in the US and it shall the the culture of the (Anglo) majority, right?
Let us also pretend that other cultures, like the Pennsylvania Dutch (with its own language) don’t really exist either. Yes, let’s pretend…
Horace
“Well, Horace, coming from a person who probably has never been out of the US, much less spent any time in Latin America, I find your arm chair “observations” about “anti-multiculturalism of Hispanics” disturbingly fallacious. But that is par for the course for you.”
LOL! So you’re speculating about me Texano. Here’s more than you wanted to know:
I’ve held two passports for about 20 years now, one for personal and the other for official travel. I lived in Germany for 5 years and Korea for over 14 months. For pleasure and/or business, I’ve traveled to Canada, Korea, Great Britain, Taiwan, New Zealand, Oman, Kuwait, France, The Netherlands, Lichtenstein, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, Lithuania, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Luxembourg, Trinidad and Tobago, U.S. Virgin Islands, Barbados, St. Lucia, Aruba, St. Barts, Puerto Rico and St. Kits. Which countries have you visited, other than old Mexico? Additonally, I’ve been all over the U.S, from the State of Washington, to San Diego on the southern border, to Florida and up to Maine, and parts in between. Is anyone who currently comments in this blog so well travelled? I was also boots-on-the-ground in Saudi Arabia during Desert Shield/Desert Storm and in Kuwait during the current war, so I challenge anyone here to say that they’ve had greater hardship in their travels. Within the next few months I might be in Iraq or Afghanistan, but will definitely be returning to South West Asia in some compacity.
My hobbies include photography. My recent fad is cosmology and quantum mechanics. My goal is to retire and return to a university to further my formal education.
I hold a library of over a thousand books, and a degree in Chemical Engineering.
I’m married to a naturalized, Korean-American. My mother-in-law recently became a citizen at the age of 82.
Anything else you’d like to know, Texano?
Texano, I’ve heard Hispanics crow that they’re becoming the dominant race/ethnic group in this country and that there should be open immigration of uneducated and unskilled people, or else a political waterloo will take place. You don’t think such talk is upsetting to those who actually believe in our immigration laws? We see California becoming dominated by Hispanics, not in the normal way, by legal and controlled immigration, as other foreign nationals do, but in a chaotic fashion and thumbing their noses at us while they scamper across the border while throwing stones at our Border Patrol.
Hispanics claim a natural right to enter this country, above all others in the world who would come. No other ethnic group makes such claims. In this way, we are tending towards a non-diverse population, where Asian, European, African immigrants, who suffer the disadvantage of not having a common border will not have an equal opportunity to enter our population. All jobs will be set aside for Hispanic amnestied illegal aliens, because they have the advantages I’ve cited above. Hispanics alread comprise a dominant number of legal immigrants. You don’t think that illegal Mexican immigration will lead to less diverse nation. Think again, all of you.
Frank
Texano, just about every country has “some” diversity. But most countries have one identifying culture. No country that I know of wants to lose that dominant, identifying culture through illegal immigraton, not Mexico either.
Texano78704
“I’ve heard Hispanics crow that they’re becoming the dominant race/ethnic group in this country and that there should be open immigration of uneducated and unskilled people, or else a political waterloo will take place.”
LOL! Where do you get this stuff, Horace? From rumors on the internets? I have no doubt there may be a handful of radicals like this, but I am sure they number far less than white supremacists and considerably less dangerous.
“Hispanics claim a natural right to enter this country, above all others in the world who would come.”
Again, come back to the real world, Horace. For someone so “well traveled,” you find it easy to generalize. BTW, why have you avoided travel to Latin America?
As for creating “one identifying culture,” wasn’t that tried before with laws like the “Chinese Exclusion Act” and by trying reprogram the children of Native Americans?
Horace
Texano said: “I’ve heard Hispanics crow that they’re becoming the dominant race/ethnic group in this country and that there should be open immigration of uneducated and unskilled people, or else a political waterloo will take place.”
LOL! Where do you get this stuff, Horace? From rumors on the internets? I have no doubt there may be a handful of radicals like this, but I am sure they number far less than white supremacists and considerably less dangerous.
Actually, I’ve heard it in this very blog, where one of you has stated that our politicians should accept the presence of illegal immigrants and pass an amnesty or suffer the consequence of being voted out of office. When I use the term “Waterloo” I used it metaphorically.
——————————————————————————————–
“As for creating “one identifying culture,” wasn’t that tried before with laws like the “Chinese Exclusion Act” and by trying reprogram the children of Native Americans?”
You people criticize this act as if other countries might not react in the same way today. I contend that Mexico and much of South America would act in a way as to defend their culture against hijacking by Anglos or others if an imposed mass migration was heading south. What do you think Mexico would do if 20 million white, English speaking Americans were flowing across its borders against its wishes? Be honest now? I doubt that you’ve even considered it, being more inclined to carry on your ill considered crusade of condemning Americans for their reactions. Would Americans be welcomed with open arms, or would they be resisted via law and law enforcement procedures? If you think the former, I’d consider you delusionary. Every nation with a predominant culture fears that its heritiage would disappear, and Hispanics are no different. Call this racism or nativism, but every nation on earth basically reacts in the same way.
Evelyn
Horace said,
What do you think Mexico would do if 20 million white, English speaking Americans were flowing across its borders against its wishes?
I am going to be soooo honest that you are going to feel foolish!
That has already happened. Millions and millions of illegal Americans already flowed across the borders with Mexico, started an unprovoked illegal war because it was their “destiny” because they were white and were entitled to this land. Because they were white they had a right to start a war because they wanted the land and the only way to get it was by starting a war, illegal, unprovoked, war. It was conveniently ” whitewashed” and called the Mexican American war. The U.S. stole half of Mexico. That is why when Mexicans shout, “we didnt cross the border, the border crossed us,” it is true.
To make it seem legitimate the U.S. signed a contract saying that all Spanish land grants would be honored, which they didnt honor. Then the U.S. paid a Spaniard for this land,that wasnt his to sell.
Frank
Two wrongs don’t ever make a right. Unless we take steps to stop history from repeating itself, we had better secure our borders and enforce our immigration laws. All nations know this and have suffered the consequences when they didn’t do so.
Texano78704
“Actually, I’ve heard it in this very blog…”
Oh, well, there you have it. Marisa should be proud to have a web site where a single person can post a comment and speak for every single Hispanic in the US.
“I contend that Mexico and much of South America would act in a way as to defend their culture against hijacking by Anglos or others if an imposed mass migration was heading south. What do you think Mexico would do if 20 million white, English speaking Americans were flowing across its borders against its wishes? Be honest now?”
Actually, the equivalent, assuming that all twelve million undocumented workers (and they obviously are not) in the US were from México, would be around four million white, English speaking US citizens. A more realistic number would be closer to two million. Gee, there at least one million US expats in México now, sounds like they are pretty darn close to doing exactly what you have suggested.
It is something that I have considered. But I can tell you, since you don’t travel to Latin América, that it does occur, although not so much with “boots on the ground.” US “culture” invades Latin América on a daily basis through television.
EYES OF TEXAS
If the entire scenario were to have been in reverse the government of Mexico would be struggling to solve the problem in the same way the U.S. is doing now. The citizens of Mexico would be protesting against the foreigners coming into their country making irrational demands of the Mexican government to change the laws of Mexico so they could become Mexican citizens. Only difference is that the millions of illegal Americans flooding into Mexico would probably be educated and have skills that would be beneficial to the economic development of Mexico. We, Americans, would not be going there drag a nation down, but to build it up.
See, almost a mirror image with the exception of the end result. One has to remember that America was once a hell-hole to live in; we went through many events that could have destroyed us; we made it through a depression; we stood againt others that wanted world domination and we never gave up until our nation developed into the place it is today. If Americans can do it, others can do it also in their country of origin.
Frank
It is pretty obvious how adamant that Mexicans/Latinos are about preserving their language and culture by the way they insist on bringing it here with them and insisting that Americans adapt to them rather than the other way around. So don’t try to deny how an illegal invasion of white Americans to the south wouldn’t be vehemently opposed if we made the same demands down south.
Now mind you I think every country’s citizens has a right to preserve it’s identifying culture and language. I don’t find anything racist about that. But what goes around comes around. It is hypocrital for immigrants to deny Americans their right to that and yet insist on something else in their own homelands.
Evelyn
Exactly, two wrongs DON’T make a right. Unless we take steps to stop history from repeating itself, we have to expose the racism behind the push to repeat the same despicable history of the past to force Mexicans from their homes like we did long ago.
We decided to cross their borders and build a wall where once we had drawn a line in the sand and use the same excuse to rid ourselves of all indigenous people including Mexicans, because somehow in our pea sized mind we think we should be privileged because we are white.
All nations have suffered at the hands of these “white supremacists” Well get this! Mexicans are not going to be pushed out of their homes again without a fight.
White people are not entitled to a job in this country because they are white. White people are not entitled to spew hate without getting hate spewed back at them just because they are white. White people are not entitled to anything just because they are white.
Horace
Texano,
How about we compromise, and send the illegal aliens home and let them invade by way of television. Is it a deal? I think most Americans would take that offer.
Horace
“Actually, I’ve heard it in this very blog…”
Oh, well, there you have it. Marisa should be proud to have a web site where a single person can post a comment and speak for every single Hispanic in the US.”
Actually, Texano, I paraphrased Marisa in making this statement.
Texano78704
“It is pretty obvious how adamant that Mexicans/Latinos are about preserving their language and culture by the way they insist on bringing it here with them and insisting that Americans adapt to them rather than the other way around.”
Actually it is not obvious, but please feel free to continue to invent points to prop up yourself. Why do you clearly object to Latinos preserving their language and culture, but not the Pennsylvania Dutch? The ‘r’ word is out there Frank, and it is looking for you.
“How about we compromise, and send the illegal aliens home and let them invade by way of television. Is it a deal? I think most Americans would take that offer.”
Once again… feel free to prove that “most Americans” would do so.
“Actually, Texano, I paraphrased Marisa in making this statement.”
So we may never know whether or not the quote was in context. I take it your assertion is that a single person, in this case it is purportedly Marisa, has the authority to speak for all Hispanics in the US. How do you suppose that is possible or even credible?
Frank
Mexican’s homes are not in the U.S. they are in Mexico. Mexican is a nationality. Now if someone of Mexican ancestry was born here that a whole different ball of wax. The tribes that Mexicans of today are descendants of didn’t live as far north as the U.S. Alessandra posted the truth in another thread.
Correct! Whites nor anyone else is entitled to a job in this country UNLESS THEY ARE A CITIZEN OR LEGAL RESIDENT!! By entitled, I mean the RIGHT to work here according to our laws. I don’t know of many whites who think they are entitled to anything just because they are white. This isn’t 1950, Selma, Alabama. This is 2008.
The only ones I see spewing hate and racism is those pounding away at whites for every conceivable thing, past, present and probably the future too.
Frank
Texano, I never said I had a problem with Latinos or any other immigrants preserving their language and culture at home. However, when out in mainstream America it is respectful to speak the language of the country you migrated too.
The Amish are a relatively small group compared to Latinos in this country. They teach their children German but when out in public they speak English. They retain their cultural traditions at home. They keep to themselves and do not impose their culture or language on the rest of America. They have no desire to become the majority in this country, especially by illegal immigraton or to turn this country into Germany.
Their crime rates are nil. They respect our laws.
Evelyn
I REPEAT, GET OFF YOUR HIGH HORSE, YOU ARE NOT ENTITLED TO ANYTHING JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE WHITE. If you want something work for it just like the rest of us!
Texano78704
“However, when out in mainstream America it is respectful to speak the language of the country you migrated too.”
You obviously have never been to any of the border states and know nothing of the local culture.
The border migrated,not my family. What give you the right to say what language I have to use?
As for respecting the law, undocumented immigrants are more likely to respect the laws than US citizens. But let’s not confuse this discuss with facts, shall we?
Frank
WHERE HAS ANYONE IN THIS BLOG STATED THAT THEY ARE ENTITLED TO ANYTHING JUST BECAUSE THEY ARE WHITE????
WHITES WORK FOR WHAT THEY HAVE JUST LIKE ANYONE ELSE!!!!
Stop being such a racist against whites! I feel sorry for your father of Irish ancestry. Your mother must have really done a number on you. How the hell did he ever stay married to someone who hated White Americans so much and passed that hatred on to their daughter?
Frank
Texano, there is still a mainstream culture and language in this country regardless of who lives in the border states or who lives in Arkansas for that matter.
I am not telling you what language you can or cannot speak. It isn’t about rights, it is about respect and assimilation. No one can force you to be respectful or to assimilate. The early immigrants assimilated to the main culture and language. Latinos for the most part choose not too.
Do you have proof that illegal aliens commit less crime than citizens? I have access to statistics that say otherwise. Let’s compare notes, shall we?
Texano78704
â€â€¦it is about respect and assimilation.â€
Ah, of course! In other words, it is about cultural supremacy.
â€Do you have proof that illegal aliens commit less crime than citizens?â€
Yes two. How many more do you need? My guess is that your “proof†is from prejudiced soures.
Frank
Is it cultural supremacy for Mexicans to want to retain their Hispanic culture as the identifying culture of Mexico?
Where are your unbiased sources to prove that illegal aliens commit crimes less disportionately than citizens? Are your sources calling them “immigrants”? Sorry, then they are not talking about illegal aliens then.
Texano78704
“Is it cultural supremacy for Mexicans to want to retain their Hispanic culture as the identifying culture of Mexico?
No, but it isn’t the same as you are trying to suggest.
Apparently my links didn’t come through on the previous post. Here they are.
http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/738822.html
http://www.ailf.org/ipc/special_report/sr_022107.pdf
“Are your sources calling them “immigrants”? Sorry, then they are not talking about illegal aliens then.”
I’ll leave to you to prove otherwise.
Evelyn
This study is to benefit people who are smart enough to know that legal Hispanics immigrants and illegal Hispanic immigrants are called immigrants. For those who wish to stay dumb, DON’T READ IT. I DON’T CARE IF YOU WANT TO STAY DUMB. I am showing it to others to prove you are lying. Again!
Winter 2008
Rethinking Crime and Immigration
by robert j. sampson
The summer of 2007 witnessed a perfect storm of controversy over immigration to the United States. After building for months with angry debate, a widely touted immigration reform bill supported by President George W. Bush and many leaders in Congress failed decisively. Recriminations soon followed across the political spectrum.
Just when it seemed media attention couldn’t be greater, a human tragedy unfolded with the horrifying execution-style murders of three teenagers in Newark, N.J., attributed by authorities to illegal aliens.
Presidential candidate Rep. Tom Tancredo (R–Colorado) descended on Newark to blame city leaders for encouraging illegal immigration, while Newt Gingrich declared the “war at home†against illegal immigrants was more deadly than the battleï¬elds of Iraq. National headlines and outrage reached a feverish pitch, with Newark offering politicians a potent new symbol and a brown face to replace the infamous Willie Horton, who committed armed robbery and rape while on a weekend furlough from his life sentence to a Massachusetts prison. Another presidential candidate, former Tennessee senator Fred Thompson, seemed to capture the mood of the times at the Prescott Bush Awards Dinner: “Twelve million illegal immigrants later, we are now living in a nation that is beset by people who are suicidal maniacs and want to kill countless innocent men, women, and children around the world.â€
Now imagine a nearly opposite, fact-based scenario. Consider that immigration—even if illegal—is associated with lower crime rates in most disadvantaged urban neighborhoods. Or that increasing immigration tracks with the broad reduction in crime the United States has witnessed since the 1990s.
Well before the 2007 Summer of Discontent over immigration, I proposed we take such ideas seriously. Based on hindsight I shouldn’t have been surprised by the intense reaction to what I thought at the time was a rather logical reflection. From the right came loud guffaws, expletive-ï¬lled insults, angry web postings, and not-so-thinly veiled threats. But the left wasn’t so happy either, because my argument assumes racial and ethnic differences in crime not tidily attributable to material deprivation or discrimination—the canonical explanations.
Although Americans hold polarizing and conflicting views about its value, immigration is a major social force that will continue for some time. It thus pays to reconsider the role of immigration in shaping crime, cities, culture, and societal change writ large, especially in this era of social anxiety and vitriolic claims about immigration’s reign of terror.
some facts
Consider first the “Latino Paradox.†Hispanic Americans do better on a wide range of social indicators—including propensity to violence—than one would expect given their socioeconomic disadvantages. To assess this paradox in more depth, my colleagues and I examined violent acts committed by nearly 3,000 males and females in Chicago ranging in age from 8 to 25 between 1995 and 2003. The study selected whites, blacks, and Hispanics (primarily Mexican-Americans) from 180 neighborhoods ranging from highly segregated to very integrated. We also analyzed data from police records, the U.S. Census, and a separate survey of more than 8,000 Chicago residents who were asked about the characteristics of their neighborhoods.
Notably, we found a signiï¬cantly lower rate of violence among Mexican-Americans compared to blacks and whites. A major reason is that more than a quarter of those of Mexican descent were born abroad and more than half lived in neighborhoods where the majority of residents were also Mexican. In particular, ï¬rst-generation immigrants (those born outside the United States) were 45 percent less likely to commit violence than third-generation Americans, adjusting for individual, family, and neighborhood background. Second-generation immigrants were 22 percent less likely to commit violence than the third generation. This pattern held true for non-Hispanic whites and blacks as well. Our study further showed living in a neighborhood of concentrated immigration was directly associated with lower violence (again, after taking into account a host of correlated factors, including poverty and an individual’s immigrant status). Immigration thus appeared “protective†against violence.
Consider next the implications of these ï¬ndings when set against the backdrop of one of the most profound social changes to visit the United States in recent decades. Foreign immigration to the United States rose sharply in the 1990s, especially from Mexico and especially to immigrant enclaves in large cities. Overall, the foreign-born population increased by more than 50 percent in 10 years, to 31 million in 2000. A report by the Pew Hispanic Center found immigration grew most signiï¬cantly in the mid-1990s and hit its peak at the end of the decade, when the national homicide rate plunged to levels not seen since the 1960s. Immigrant flows have receded since 2001 but remain high, while the national homicide rate leveled off and seems now to be creeping up. Both trends are compared over time at left.
The pattern upends popular stereotypes. Among the public, policy makers, and even many academics, a common expectation is that the concentration of immigrants and the influx of foreigners drive up crime rates because of the assumed propensities of these groups to commit crimes and settle in poor, presumably disorganized communities. This belief is so pervasive that in our Chicago study the concentration of Latinos in a neighborhood strongly predicted perceptions of disorder no matter the actual amount of disorder or rate of reported crimes. And yet immigrants appear in general to be less violent than people born in America, particularly when they live in neighborhoods with high numbers of other immigrants.
Evelyn
I dont “hate white Americans” I love white Americans. Many members of my family are white Americans.
I, like them hate racism. We pity racists, bigots, zealots, and hate mongers, and so does every other patriotic American of any color.
I believe that most Americans are patriotic and will defend our constution and the right for justice and equality for all people in the U.S. Many Americans including Mexicans have given their lives fighting to defend those rights.
The racist believe that because they are white they have a right to exclude other races from living in the U.S. They think they are entitled to jobs, education, social services and they want everyone to speak the language of their choice. They are still regurtating lies and haven’t figured out that their 15 min. of fame is up. Patriotic Americans have kicked them to the curb for trash pick-up.
Anti-Immigrant Spokesman Demonizes Hispanics in Time Magazine
March 18, 2008
In the February 27th edition of Time magazine, Steven Camarota, research director for the Center for Immigration Studies, an organization that wants to restrict new immigration to the United States, warns that “even if immigrants are less likely to commit crimes, their children and grandchildren may be more likely to end up on the wrong side of the law. He points out that U.S. Department of Justice statistics show that Hispanics make up 20% of state and Federal prison populations in 2005, a rise of 43% since 1990… ‘That means the children and grandchildren of immigrants are committing a lot of crime, making this a long-term problem.’†1
Truth:
Although some anti-immigrant spokespeople argue that other nations are “shipping killersâ€2 to the United States, study after study shows that immigrants in fact commit far fewer crimes than other U.S. residents. The President’s Council of Economic Advisors, for example, reports that immigrants have lower crime rates than U.S. natives and that immigrant men ages 18 to 40 are less likely than other U.S. residents to be incarcerated. The Council found that “[t]he direct evidence on crime rates shows that localities that receive large numbers of immigrants do not experience increases in relative crime rates.â€3 Moreover, a Public Policy Institute of California study concluded that among men ages 18-40 – the age group most likely to commit crimes – those born in the U.S. were 10 times more likely than immigrants to be incarcerated. 4
Nevertheless, anti-immigrant organizations often choose to ignore legitimate evidence and instead present false information that purports to link immigrants with criminality. Mr. Camarota, in endorsing immigration restrictions based upon the imagined future activities of immigrants’ children and grandchildren, adopts a revealing approach in his anti-immigrant rhetoric. In doing so, he makes clear that immigration policy is not, in fact, his primary concern or that of his organization; race-based stereotyping and anti-Hispanic hatred are.
Mr. Camarota’s group, the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), was founded and is funded in large part by John Tanton and his organization, the Federation of Americans for Immigration Reform (FAIR). FAIR, a designated hate group,5 has accepted millions of dollars from the Pioneer Fund, which has been described as a “neo-Nazi organization, tied to the Nazi eugenics program in the 1930s.â€6 Mr. Camarota’s comments in Time magazine are further proof of the true mission of the Center for Immigration Studies: the demonization of Hispanics. 7
First, Mr. Camarota conflates immigrants and Hispanics. While 54% of immigrants are from Hispanic sending countries, 46% are not; five million current immigrants are from Europe, ten million are from Asia, and 1.3 million arrive from Africa.8 “Immigrant†and “Hispanic†are, therefore, not the interchangeable terms that Mr. Camarota suggests that they are.
Mr. Camarota also inaccurately attributes the rise in the prison population to the growing Hispanic population in the United States. In 1990, there were 22.4 million Latinos in the United States, or 9% of the total U.S. population. In 2006, Hispanics numbered 44.3 million, or 14.8% of the population. The Hispanic population, therefore, increased by 98 percent from 1990-2006, much faster than the increase in the prison population over this period.
Mr. Camarota, of course, also ignores factors that are not race-based in deciding to attribute the increase in the prison population solely to the increase in the size of the Hispanic population. If Mr. Camarota were truly concerned about crime rates among Latino citizens, he would examine our failing schools, limited economic opportunities, access to justice, and structural racism. Instead, he appears to suggest that Latinos are somehow predisposed to criminality, a false assertion that has no place in a rational debate about immigration policy.
Frank
Texano, so you are offering opinion pieces as proof that illegal aliens commit less crime than citizens do proportionately? You brought the subject up and actually I don’t really care one way or the other because my arguments are based on the rule of law anyway. So believe what you want to believe about the crime stats.
You didn’t really answer my question whether Mexicans are exercising cultural superiority in Mexico by wanting to retain the Hispanic culture and language in their country. The Japanese and Chinese are very adamant about retaining their native culture and languages in their countries and so are most countries. This is racist to you? I am not following you at all.
Frank
We all know that there are racists in this country and of all races too, even aside from the immigration issue.
But what has that to do with those of us in this blog who merely want our immigration laws enforced and don’t want a repeat of 1986? Does that make us automatically racists? I don’t think so! The majority of all Americans want the above. Are they all racists too?
Texano78704
Frank, you were the one that brought up “respect for the law,” not me. And what I offered were not opinion pieces. One was an opinion piece that referred to stats in a study, and the other was a study. You, on the other hand, do not prove a thing, just make assertions and then, failing that, change the assertion.
And yes, I did answer your question about cultural supremacy, you just didn’t like it or understand it.
We are not talking about China or Japan. Japan, for example is a fairly homogeneous society. The US is a heterogeneous one. To suggest there is a “one size fits all” culture is absurd. Further, you attempt to link language to that culture. Also absurd.
In parts of what was once known as the Wild Horse Desert, or what is now called “the valley” in Texas, many people still grow up with Spanish as their first language. They are just as much citizens of this country and you purport to be.
States have, in the past, drafted their state constitutions in both Spanish and English. I’ll bet you and your bigoted buddies didn’t know that.
There are states that have rights guaranteed under the state constitution that protect their Spanish speaking citizens. To which “culture” do they belong?
Frank
So you are now claiming that the U.S. has not had and identifying culture and language since it’s founding? Are you kidding me? Sure there are other cultures and bi-lingual citizens living among us but they are only minority cultures and I never said that those people are less citizens than anyone else. We may not be as hemogenous as China or Japan but we still have our own unique identity as a nation. The fact that you are trying to deny that tells me what you are all about. Facts are not bigoted.
Texano78704
“So you are now claiming that the U.S. has not had and identifying culture and language since it’s founding?”
No, I am saying that it has had and continues to have many cultures and languages.
“We may not be as hemogenous as China or Japan but we still have our own unique identity as a nation.”
True, but that was not your original assertion.
Frank
Yes, it was my original assertion. I don’t know what you were reading into it.
Texano78704
“Every country has there identifying culture.”
“But most countries have one identifying culture.”
“…there is still a mainstream culture and language in this country…”
I see “identifying culture” all over the place, even “mainstream culture” And I see that yesterday you used “unique identity,” so how that was your original assertion, I’ll never know. Maybe you will want to expand on what you mean by “unique identity,” since your dictionary is a little different than mine.
Frank
The words and terms mean all the same to me. We have had one identifying culture and language since this country’s founding. All other cultures and languages are among the minority in this country. I don’t know how I can make it any clearer than that for you.
Texano78704
I knew you were going to say that Frank. And while that is your opinion, I think you are completely wrong.
If we have had one identifying culture since the founding of this nation, why not describe it in general? And then explain how it is that an “identifying culture” does not change or evolve for over 230 years. Further, explain why this national culture trumps regional and local cultures.
Frank
Texano, let me put it to you so you will understand. This country has a dominant ANGLO CULTURE. That is A N G L O. ANGLO. As opposed to HISPANIC. OK? Every ethnic group which has come here has assimilated into ANGLO CULTURE. Now, that doesn’t mean that they did not bring their customs and traditions from the native lands and blend them in to the BASE ANGLO CULTURE. But, try as you might, this country’s main culture IS NOT HISPANIC. That would be the culture of 22 LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES. And we’d just as soon not make it 23. Thank you.
Uh, you don’t know that regional and local doesn’t mean “main or majority”? It only means minority among the majority. What the heck does trumping it mean? It is what it is. It is the dominant and identifying culture of this nation and always has been.
Horace
Texano said: “If we have had one identifying culture since the founding of this nation, why not describe it in general? And then explain how it is that an “identifying culture” does not change or evolve for over 230 years. Further, explain why this national culture trumps regional and local cultures.”
Why change what’s worked for 230 years just for the sake of change and for the sake of those who’ve invaded our country from the south? It’s better more successful than any other nation on earth, for that matter. It’s the culture that brought you the philosophy of the men who wrote the Declaration of Independence, the Gettysberg Address and the Constitution. Should we emulate the cultures of Central American, i.e. Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, or Venezuela, when their people vote with their feet to abandon their homelands? I don’t see those countries adopting Anglo culture without a fight. Since the entire hemisphere below our southern border is Hispanic dominated, what’s wrong with keeping U.S. culture predominantly Anglo?
Frank
Texano, here are a few more historical tidbits about the USA and points to ponder.
The identifying culture is ANGLO! A N G L O. Our government was founded by Englishmen! You know: Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton, Adams, Franklin, Hancock. NOT Rodriquez, Martinez, Garcia, Ruiz, etc. OK??? Our sacred Constitution was written in ENGLISH; our laws are based on ENGLISH common law which is based on the ENGLISH Magna Carta.
That is our core culture. White Anglo Saxon Protestant culture.
Now, have other immigrants come to our shores and brought ASPECTS of their culture and BLENDED them into the core culture? Yes. But, they all learned English and they all more or less assimilated into the core culture.
What Hispanics are trying to do is REPLACE the Anglo core culture with their Hispanic culture. You have 22 Latin American countries where Hispanic culture is the core culture. You do not need to come here and try to usurp OUR culture. What then? On to Canada to make them into a Hispanic country? Word of advice: Good luck with the French Canadians.
The Southwest has always had a “regional” Latino/Native American influence. However, it is only due to illegal immigration in the past 30 years where Latino culture is usurping and replacing Anglo culture in many areas. No country or people want their culture displaced by another through illegal immigration. No citizens of any country would wordlessly stand by and allow it to happen, let alone embrace it.
Texano78704
â€Every ethnic group which has come here has assimilated into ANGLO CULTURE.â€
Oops! There is a whale of whopper right there Frank. A big, bold, lie! But thanks for the rants that confirm that your real goal is cultural supremacy.
†However, it is only due to illegal immigration in the past 30 years where Latino culture is usurping and replacing Anglo culture in many areas.â€
Again, you demonstrate your ignorance of the border states and reality that there are many places in the US where US citizens for many generations have grown up both speaking Spanish and exposed to the local culture.
You talk about the “sacred Constitution,†but cannot tell us in which section this blather about cultural supremacy is written. Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton, Adams, Franklin, and Hancock all had a chance to make this nation “English only†or have English as the official language, but they did not. Why do you suppose that is?
And what about those “sacred state constitutions†that do specifically protect the rights of their Spanish speaking citizens? Oh, let us pretend they do not exist…
†Why change what’s worked for 230 years just for the sake of change and for the sake of those who’ve invaded our country from the south?â€
Well, feel free to prove that Frank’s AGLO CULTURE has not actually changed in over 230 years. And by the way, Venezuela isn’t in Central America.
â€â€¦ what’s wrong with keeping U.S. culture predominantly Anglo?â€
What is right about it? Can you point to a currently enacted law that makes it so? You all are bigots, through and through.
Frank
Cultural supremacy? Is that what they call the Hispanic culture in Mexico to because it is the dominant and identifying one? Is that something negative or is it just a fact? Is it wrong for any nation to want to retain their native culture and language?
Again you come up with the lame argument about minority cultures in a region or area. What has that to do with the dominant culture of this country?
What difference does it make that we have had no official language in the past? Does that mean that we can’t have one now? Are you denying that English has been the dominant and identifying language of this country since it’s founding?
Who is denying citizens of Spanish ancestry any rights?
Oh, I see it is bigoted for anglos who have been the majority in this country along with their culture and language since it’s founding to want to retain that? Is it also bigoted for Mexicans to remain culturally Mexican in Mexico? It has nothing to do with laws.
Hispanics and their culture are the majority in 22 countries on the western hemisphere. Anglos aren’t allowed to retain their dominance in this country in view of that fact? How so? What do you want next, Canada to?
Frank
Texano FYI,
The vision for this country by our founding fathers was not for a bunch of separate cultures all doing their own thing and to be the tower of Babel. It was to assimilate and become “one people” like our national motto says: out of many, one.
You are twisting everything around to suit your own purposes and calling us bigots when you are the ones who are trying to shove your culture down our throats in our own country! Nobody FORCED Latinos to come here; they CHOSE to come here. If they are so attached to their language and culture, they should stay in their Latino paradises.
Texano78704
What does your desire to seek cultural supremacy have to do with the dominant culture in this country? You want to replace the minorities with a single culture. You want to institutionalize it. Even México is not a mono-culture, but since you do not really know anything about that country, you wouldn’t know that.
Is it wrong for any nation to retain its native culture and language? For the US, that would mean that we would have to learn Sioux, Cherokee, etc., and follow their customs. We are already mimicking some of the aspects of the very democratic Iroquois confederacy, which was part of Thomas Jefferson’s inspiration when he wrote the Declaration of Independence. Any time you are ready for this change, let me know.
For all your blather about a “sacred Constitution,†it seems you cannot find a justification for enacting English as the official language. It seems your argument is “why not?†Sorry, that just is not a good enough reason.
â€Hispanics and their culture are the majority in 22 countries on the western hemisphere. Anglos aren’t allowed to retain their dominance in this country in view of that fact?â€
This is hilarious. Your argument for cultural supremacy seems to be number-based.
The vision for the founders of this nation was that it be a democracy where all men were created equal, and thus did not have to suffer someone shoving a specific culture down their throats, Anglo or otherwise. This nation was founded upon the idea that everyone had certain unalienable rights, that they could live life as they chose to, that they have the liberty to adopt the customs, traditions, and languages which they saw fit, and that they be able to pursue a life that made them happy, not a state ordered one.
No where in the documents that defined this country does it mention the Tower of Babel or state that the culture must be one prescribed culture. E pluribus unum refers to the uniting of the thirteen colonies as one nation and not a mandate for cultural supremacy.
â€You are twisting everything around to suit your own purposes and calling us bigots when you are the ones who are trying to shove your culture down our throats in our own country!â€
On the contrary, I am calling you a bigot because you do not want to allow anyone, other than Anglos, to maintain the culture, customs and language of their own choosing. I could care less how you choose to live your life.
Frank
You are asking the wrong question. I never said I wanted cultural “supremacy” for white people in this country. I said we just want to retain the heritage, culture and language that this country was founded on as the dominant one. That isn’t “cultural supremacy”. What do you call it being the fact is that Latin Americans/Mexicans want to retain their native culture and language in their countries. IT THE SAME DAMN THING!!
I never said I wanted minority cultures eliminated in this country. I just want them to remain the minority cultures rather than replacing the majority culture of this country. Is there something wrong with that? We certainly don’t want the majority culture replaced due to illegal immigration!!
Government documents don’t have to mention the “Tower of Babel”. It is what it is when you have several languages being spoken out in mainstream rather than assimilating to the main one. I don’t care what language someone speaks at home.
I never said that minorities couldn’t maintain their native customs and languages just adapt to ours and do what they want at home and not try to change our dominant culture to theirs. There is nothing bigoted about our country or Mexico or any other country wanting to retain their native cultures and languages as the dominant ones.
Texano78704
“I never said I wanted minority cultures eliminated in this country. I just want them to remain the minority cultures rather than replacing the majority culture of this country. Is there something wrong with that?”
In other words, you want the government to take steps to control social evolution in the US, to preserve the cultural supremacy of whites in the US, because “preservation of cultural supremacy” sounds so much better than “promotion of cultural supremacy.” And how, specifically, would this government intervention take place?
“Government documents don’t have to mention the “Tower of Babel”. It is what it is when you have several languages being spoken out in mainstream…”
In other words, what commonly occurs currently in the European Union. This is the part where you tell us how that, the European Union, has been a total disaster.
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