Prominent Anti-Immigrant Leader Recruits Neo-Nazis to Beat, Rob, Intimidate Immigrants

^{Category: Immigrants' Rights}

The longstanding relationship between the anti-immigrant movement and the racist paramilitary movement is one of the worst-kept secrets in the Midwest, but recent events have clarified just how deep that relationship is. The Southern Poverty Law Center has obtained a copy of an email sent by Laine Lawless, director of Border Guardians, to a regional "commander" in the National Socialist Movement, a neo-Nazi organization. In the email, the director called on neo-Nazis to physically assault and rob suspected undocumented immigrants in order to create a pattern of intimidation. As is often the case with anti-immigrant rhetoric, many of the "suggestions" and concerns--calling on neo-Nazi thugs to intimidate Spanish-speaking voters at the polls, to scare Spanish-speaking children away from schools, and to shut down ESL programs--are directed as much against legal Hispanic immigrants as they are against undocumented immigrants.

Had the email not been leaked, it's unlikely that anyone would have dared accuse Lawless of working alongside neo-Nazis. Certainly that was Lawless' idea, judging from the opening paragraph:

Would you do me a favor and send this onto your lists? I'm not ready to come out on this, but I think my ideas are good and should be shared ... Maybe some of your warriors for the race would be the kind of ppl willing to implement some of these ideas. Please don't use my name. THANKS.

This email comes on the heels of several other equally disturbing examples of violence and racism in the anti-immigrant movement:

• A right-wing Arizona talk radio host remarked that it would be "fun" to murder Mexican immigrants as they attempt to cross the border.
• An African-American member of the Colorado State Legislature was threatened with lynching for opposing anti-immigrant legislation.
• A new online video game encourages players to score points by shooting pregnant Hispanic women and their children as they attempt to cross the U.S.-Mexico border.
• Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and California lieutenant governor Cruz Bustamante have both received racist death threats.

Although most anti-immigrant legislators in the House of Representatives have been largely unwilling to express public disapproval of these actions, President Bush has clearly had enough. "I know this is an emotional debate," he said at a Monday press conference, "but one thing we can't lose sight of is that we're talking about human beings. Decent human beings."

See also:

• Bush Says "No Way" to Mass Deportation
• 75% of Californians Support Citizenship for Undocumented Immigrants
• Immigration Proposals Compared Side-by-Side