New York – As the fight over immigration policy drags on, an ominous undercurrent to the debate – racism – is becoming more pronounced.
From muttered ethnic slurs to violent attacks, activists say an anti-immigrant backlash seems to be growing in America’s neighborhoods and workplaces.
A few political leaders have called proposed immigration measures before Congress “racist.”
“The climate has gotten demonstrably worse, and it is racially charged,” said Devin Burghart of the Center for New Community, which tracks anti-immigrant activity. “It’s not simply a debate about immigration policy. … It’s about race and national identity and who and what we are as Americans.”
When lawmakers passed a bill in December that would make illegal immigrants felons, many felt that was a swipe at Latinos, who make up 80 percent of the nation’s estimated 11 million illegal immigrants. Former President Carter has said the bill had “racist overtones,” and that feeling helped push more than 1 million demonstrators to attend street rallies in recent months.
Some reacted the same way after the Senate passed an amendment to its immigration bill last month that declared English the national language. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, called that “racist” and “divisive.” The amendment’s sponsor, Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Inhofe, replied that Reid’s statements were “ridiculous.”
Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., who wrote much of the House bill, issued a study on six countries’ immigration policies and found that five – including Mexico – make illegal entry into their nation a criminal offense.
But Luis Valenzuela, of the Long Island Immigration Alliance in New York, said the measures feel hostile to many immigrants. The bills “set (an) overall climate which is quite racist,” he said. “That elicits action by extremists.”
The Anti-Defamation League, a nonprofit that fights anti- Semitism and other bias, put out a report last month that said “hateful and racist rhetoric” aimed at Latino immigrants had grown “to a level unprecedented in recent years.”
