Tim Gaynor/Reuters: Democrats to save us from "nativists"

Tim Gaynor of Reuters offers "Nativists fan flames of U.S. immigration debate". And, it's even worse than the title might indicate. (Via this).

...The founder of the Emigration Party of Nevada is among a growing number of nativists from across the United States that have been stepping up direct action in recent months to make a stand on the issues of illegal immigration and border security.

The milder end of the spectrum includes the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, who spot for illegal entrants crossing the borders from Mexico and Canada, and councilors in towns and cities from California to Pennsylvania who vote to curb landlords from renting to undocumented immigrants...

He goes on to discuss the non-mild end of the spectrum with neoNazi, various supremacist groups, "gangs who battled newcomers on the streets of New York in the 1800s", and "the Ku Klux Klan's rants against Mexican immigrants in the last century". In Reuters' view, anyone who takes action to prevent illegal immigration is a "nativist" and just a step or two away from extremists and perhaps violence. Needless to say, this is guilt by association and simple name-calling. News sources that wish to remain objective shouldn't engage in this type of behavior, but then again, it's Reuters so what do you expect.

The article also quotes Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a group indirectly linked to the Mexican government. Reuters does not, of course, reveal that link.

Thankfully, Tim Gaynor reveals that help is on the way:

However, analysts caution that the groups are small and increasingly out of step with mainstream Americans, who elected a Democratic Congress on November 7 that promises a comprehensive approach to immigration combining tough enforcement with incentives for newcomers.

"The (nativists) show up at town meetings, they call talk radio shows and some of them even engage in acts of violence, but the elections are the ultimate poll," said Frank Sharry, the executive director of the National Immigration Forum think tank in Washington.

Previously:
Tim Gaynor/Reuters: "Democrats' win spurs hope of immigration revamp" (also quotes Sharry)
Tim Gaynor/Reuters, "experts", say fence is "impractical"

Immigration · Tue, 12/26/2006 - 14:33 · · Importance: 1