The immigration issue is racist

[live love laugh]

I am not Hispanic but I am a minority.

The other day my Mom called me and got into a conversation about a woman on the news in Chicago that had sought asylum at a church for a year to avoid deportation. The woman left the church for a protest in CA and was arrested. My Mom, believing the news spin on this issue, thought it was good that the woman was "caught".

I bit my tongue because I didn't want to get into the whole illegal immigration issue. But then, I did some channel surfing and saw another minority woman being interviewed by a news station. She too agreed that illegal immigration was "wrong."

I don't watch the news much anymore--especially the major networks. But within an hour I got a glimpse of the issue de jour in the media now--illegal immigration. The topic comes and goes but it seems to be gaining strength in its divisiveness.

As I thought about it, I began to wonder how much this issue affects non-illegal immigrants. There is no way to distinguish a Hispanic American from a Hispanic illegal immigrant for the most part. The Hispanic population is growing and soon will become (if it isn't already) the dominant minority in the US. This should be a time for Hispanics to make their voices heard in America. Instead, I believe that the illegal immigration issue serves to muffle their voices because of this issue.

The illegal immigration issue is not just economic but racist IMHO.

[ThomCat]

1. I agree with you. There seems to be a growing terror in this country

of white people no longer being the majority. There is a fear that hispanic people are going to take over. And hispanic immigrants are the obvious place to lash out.

It is racism. Immigration fears have always been racial.

[live love laugh]

8. Absolutely. Any time a minority emerges in America they are demonized. n/t

[BlooInBloo]

2. Everybody knows it. White folks are just maintaining their....

.... "it's theoretically possible to say this without being racist, therefore it's plausibly deniable, therefore everyone else is oversensitive" line.

But everyone knows perfectly well that it is.

[Richard Steele]

3. That's an excellent summation. I wholeheartedly concur. nm

[blogslut]

5. I think so

But, there is a class element to it that allows others to jump on the bandwagon. For example, citizen Hispanics/Latinos as mentioned by the OP.

[Truthiness Inspector]

11. Really?

Do you have any examples of "white people" being given a pass for being here illegally?

If you do, I'd sure like to see it.

[Richard Steele]

12. Do YOU have any examples of "white people" who are here legally?

I'd sure like to see THAT. :eyes:

[Truthiness Inspector]

15. What? LOL.

We are a sovereign nation.

Let me ask you: What country does NOT have immigraton laws?

[Richard Steele]

20. Didn't even muss your hair when it went over your head, did it?

:eyes:

[daninthemoon]

4. I've yet to hear an explanation of why we should suddenly be

so afraid of these "other" people. A big chunk of this country was Mexican before it was Anglo. Also, throughout our history
imigrants have done the jobs "real Americans" won't. I can't imagine what will happen to produce prices.

[murielm99]

7. We should suddenly be afraid of those "other" people

because the repukes have decided that this is the election issue for this year.

They like divisive issues that cause people to hate some "other." It keeps people from seeing what they are really doing. It keeps people stirred up.

Abortion and gay marriage are not working as well as they used to for divisiveness. Normal people are getting bored with those two issues. Thoughtful normal people may even favor abortion and gay marriage. Those issues may keep the fundies in a lather, but even the fundies are starting to question the republicans.

Republican strategists probably got together and decided it was time to hate the brown people. Little did they realize that the brown people would fight back.

[Suich]

6. Of course they're trying to muffle their voices...

they don't vote republican. There is so much bs out there about immigrants....how much they cost the health care and school systems, the high crime rate, blah, blah, blah. What is never mentioned is how much $$$ legal and illegal immigrants pay into the system, including social security, sales tax, gas tax, property tax, etc, and how much they CONTRIBUTE to the system. The people that say they take jobs away from "real" Americans are just nuts. "Real" Americans won't work for the wages that are paid to the immigrants.

On the population, I thought it was the "non-Caucasian" segment that was going to be in a 51% majority, not just Hispanics. I think that scares some people.

Lou Dobbs beats the drum daily on immigration...he actually wants to deport 12 million people!

"A Day Without A Mexican"...it's a great video. If you get a chance, watch it.

[silverojo]

9. I'll tell you who's really racist

Anyone who thinks one race of people should be exempt from our nation's laws. The immigration laws apply to whites, blacks, Asians, and all races equally. If millions of Canadians came flooding into this country illegally, people would be angry, too--and most of those people are lily-white.

It's not about race. It's about law and order.

[Truthiness Inspector]

10. Here, here!

Very well said. Nail on the head.

[Richard Steele]

13. A textbook example of "post #2 syndrome". Thanks for sharing your concern.

[Bluebear]

14. "It's about law and order."

Swoon.

Just like we have a president who obeys the law.

[Richard Steele]

16. And just like all us "white people" came here in a legal & orderly fashion.

:sarcasm:

Speaking for myself, of course- I don't know if you're "white", BB.
But I am, and my family's been here over 300 years. And the folks
that owned this land and made its laws...well, we didn't exactly
"ask their permission to emigrate" so much as we just kinda showed up
one day with with GUNS, y'know?

[Bluebear]

17. Oh I am white alright.

And this "problem" of illegal immigration has been fairly static for my whole life. Nothing in the last decade has set me in a frenzy about Mexican people coming into our country ILLEGALLY!!!!!1111

I refuse, refuse RE-FUSE to even contemplate this issue until January 2009, when our newly-elected Democratic President can begin to address the issue in a rational fashion. Until then, I consdier it nothing more than a racist, right-wing hot button wedge issue.

[Richard Steele]

19. I agree completely; I can't add much more to what you just said. nm

[meowomon]

18. For many it is about race

But not for me. I too believe it is about law and order. We must control our borders because of the human tragedy involved. The immigrants who come here to give their families a better life are used as cheap labor for corporate blood suckers. I also don't believe in the English only crap. I think US kids should be bilingual with Spanish as a required course to graduate.

I believe in Amnesty, hell yes, I said it: AMNESTY for all people in this country illegally. How the hell can we deport millions of hard working honest people who make a fine addition to our multi-cultural society? Then corporations will be forced to pay them a decent wage and not be able to exploit them. For the future though, we should impose much higher fines for exploiting illegal labor and actually enforce the laws we already have.

I am no economist, but there must be some way to insist that the Mexican government(and other right wing corporate owned governments)provide for their own people. Most illegal immigrants don't want to come here in the first place and leave their families and loved ones behind. There must be economic development and equity for them in their homeland.

So, I am anti-illegal immigration and pro-amnesty. So kiss my big fat ass if you think it is because of racism. It is a a big fucking cop-out to lump us all in the same Rethuglican, Tom Tancredo group.

[noamnety]

21. "there must be some way to insist"

that other countries let us oversee their affairs?

I guess that's one solution. How's that worked out in the past?

[Vogon_Glory]

22. Right-Wingers Working Code Word Racism

Congratulations for realizing what people living in the former Confederacy and in border states have known for years--that the Far Right has used code words and race-baiting for years as a wedge issue. It's an old, ugly tactic that the Right has used for decades. In the 1920's, the right used "Catholics" and "non-Aryans" as code-words to bash immigrants and non-white natives living in the US. More recently, "welfare queens" and Willy Horton were used to bash Afro-Americans. These days the catch-phrase "illegal immigrants" is used to bash people of Mexican descent.

[baldguy]

23. Of course it's racist. It's ALWAYS been racist.

Today, it's against Central & South American people. 100 years ago, it was against Italians & Eastern Europeans. 150 years ago it was against the Irish & Chinese. The story hasn't changed, just the object if the hatred.

[Shadrach]

24. I agree

I'm sure there are bad seed who sneak in the country but a most of the illigals are probably hard working and they are only desperate (enough to risk their lives) to come here in order to feed their family in Mexico. But they are usually painted as criminal and I've seen the comments where some Americans (mostly Republicans) are concerned with the danger that these people might bring their "third world mindset" to our pure American culture.

[RB TexLa]

25. always has been

[porphyrian]

26. Breaking the speed limit is wrong, too, but no one is suggesting we shoot speeders.

I don't think the topic itself is racist, but it has been used and framed by racists to foment racist attitudes in the general public, like we needed some more.

[bunkerbuster1]

27. Oh, HELL yes it's racist.

I was astonished when I posted some months back about the inherent racism in the use of the term "Illegal" as a noun--the backtalk from DUers was incredible.

BTW, if you like to use the term "illegal" to describe those undocumented workers in this country? Michelle Malkin's knuckle draggers are cheering for you!

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/MichelleMalkin/2007/07/18/deportthemnowcom&Comments=true

we need to make sure that the language reflects the truth. Stop calling it "The immigration Debate" or whatever else. Make sure that the term ILLEGAL is always used and used prominently. That little ommission is done on purpose and for the reason that it changes the argument drastically, labeling us all as racists etc.

Deport them all, whether they have a criminal background or not. The very nature of them being here means they now have a criminal background.