AG Nominee Gonzales on Illegal Immigration (Confirmation Hearing Excerpts)

"In a poll in a recent issue of the Hispanic Poder magazine, a majority of readers came out in favor of tighter enforcement of immigration laws."

I don't doubt that, but ask those same people how they feel about anti-Hispanics like Buchanan. (remember the meatball commercial?)

Look at the way anti-immigrant posters on FR characterize Hispanics. They are patently racists. An Hispanic can agree that we need tighter enforcement of immigration laws and at the same time be turned off to the Republican Party by the racist anti-Hispanic statements made by so many self-identified Republicans.

An Hispanic can agree that we need tighter enforcement of immigration laws and at the same time be turned off to the Republican Party by the racist anti-Hispanic statements made by so many self-identified Republicans.

So it's not the objections to Bush's policies that you have a problem with, but the manner in which some of these objections are expressed?

"So it's not the objections to Bush's policies that you have a problem with, but the manner in which some of these objections are expressed? "

I have no objection to rational debate, but that's not what we have on these immigration threads.

There is a cottage industry of anti-immigration websites and organizations that solicit contributions by the use of fear and racism. These exist to provide income for the ownres, either directly through contributions or indirectly through renting their mail list, advertising books, and links to other sites. They are in competition with each other and continuopusly ratchet up the level of fear and racism.

They have repeated the same standard lies so many times that even FReepers have accepted them as true until someone challenges them on one of them. For example, "America has open borders." "Immigrants will destroy our culture unless we seal the borders," "A guest worker program is amnesty." "Illegal immigrants have caused a crime wave." "Immigrants are bankrupting our government.", "Illegal immigrants don't pay taxes." "A fence would keep them out." "Terrorists are streaming across the border."

If you were a member of a particular culture, race or religion and someone told you that your kind are destroying our culture, economy and security, how would you feel about that person?

They have repeated the same standard lies so many times that even FReepers have accepted them as true until someone challenges them on one of them. For example, "America has open borders."

No one's arguing that that's true in a de jure sense, but it's hard to argue that that's not the case in a de facto sense. The border's leaking like a sieve.

"A guest worker program is amnesty."

It is if someone who broke the laws to get here can apply for it here within the country.

"Illegal immigrants have caused a crime wave." "Immigrants are bankrupting our government."

So you're categorically saying that these things aren't true?

"A fence would keep them out."

Well, it would.

"Terrorists are streaming across the border."

"Streaming" might be a bit tough to define, but it's been acknowledged at the highest levels (Secretary Rumsfeld, for example) that the border in its current state presents a serious problem for homeland security.

If you were a member of a particular culture, race or religion and someone told you that your kind are destroying our culture, economy and security, how would you feel about that person?

You mean if someone told me this here in my own country? I'd consider him a bit delusional. Of course, if I illegally entered a foreign country that's foreign in every sense, along with millions of others like me, then he might have a point.

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