The Underside of the Current Immigration Debate

News from across the country reveals the underside of the modern immigration debate.  The LAPD’s actions on May 1 are one well-publicized example, with the ripple effects likely to remain for quite a while.  But consider other recent news from around the country.

Earlier this week (here), five men accused of belonging to a self-styled militia, the Alabama Free Militia, in Alabama were indicted on federal explosives and weapons charges after raids that uncovered an arsenal of homemade hand grenades and firearms, authorities said. A federal officer testifed thatat they were planning a machine gun attack on Mexicans.  An ATF agent has testified that militia members stockpiled scores of hand grenades and weapons and planned a machine-gun attack on Mexicans. Neighbors have described some of the men as railing against illegal immigrants and the federal government.

In Virginia (here), organizers canceled a Cinco de Mayo festival scheduled because they feared a federal sweep of illegal immigrants. Organizer Maria Roe says she called off the traditional May 5th celebration of Hispanic pride after getting a phone call from the Fairfax office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Roe said she asked the caller why she was interested in the festival and didn’t get an answer. She told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that the call made her suspicious.

And local efforts to address immigration have proiven costly and ineffective but have generated much fear and tension.  In “Attempts to Curb Illegal Immigration Prove Costly Lawsuits Threaten to Break Budgets of Communities That Apply Housing, Employment Restrictions,” AP reporter Anabelle Garay (here) writes that, “As cities across the United States spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to defend against lawsuits and other challenges to their ordinances enacted to keep out illegal immigrants, some groups are warning that their communities are risking financial disaster. Dozens of cities and counties have proposed or passed laws that prohibit landlords from leasing to illegal immigrants, penalize businesses that employ undocumented workers or train police to enforce federal immigration laws.”  The cities hopefully will figure this out sooner rather than later.

These all are disturbing developments that should concern us all.  We as a nation must learn how to deal responsibly and effectively with immigration and immigrants.  If the nation does not, we can expect more of the same.

KJ