Border Vigilante Uses Made-up Numbers in Attempt to Equate Immigrants and Crime

The PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY WEBSITE (click here) reports that Jim Gilchrist, founder of the anti-immigrant Minuteman Project, told CNSNews.com that there is a “silent war” consisting of “U.S. residents” that “have been killed in action” by “illegal aliens”.  While the mainstream media is focused on the Iraq war, this ongoing silent war is “taking its toll in lives and domestic tranquility,” said Jim Gilchrist.   Gilchrist claims that hundreds of thousands of casulties have resulted from the conduct of undocumented immigrants.  People for the American Way claim that Gilchrist’s alleged data is “simply a fictitious number with no relation to reality. What it is related to is the underlying effort by anti-immigrant activists to equate immigrants with criminality – from activists like Gilchrist to the local civic leaders who pass anti-immigrant ordinances. While reality-based studies appear to show that immigrants commit less crime and may even make communities safer, anti-immigrant activists can always resort to made-up numbers to make their claim.”  Click the link above for a further explanation.

Thanks to Mary M for this tip!

KJ