Immigration, the new culture war

Rinku Sen, Executive Director of the Applied Research Center and Publisher of ColorLines magazine, comments on the racist rhetoric being used in the immigration debate. Partial text and link to the full analysis in TomPaine.com is below.

TomPaine.com
Thursday, July 20, 2006

The New Culture War

In the ongoing battle over immigration, conservative rhetoric continues to escalate. It’s racist, and it gets results. This year, more than 30 states have passed 57 laws banning the undocumented from receiving social services or pledging National Guard troops to patrol the southern U.S. border. Earlier this week, House Republicans in Washington staged a hearing about “cracking down” on undocumented immigrants. Republicans have been told to move ahead but avoid pissing off Latinos – their lesson from Proposition 187 in California -- but a little decoding of the symbols, soundbites and economic arguments they use exposes their fear of a browner nation.

Read more at TomPaine.com.

http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/07/20/the_new_culture_war.php