Anti-Immigrant Leader Says Immigration merely ‘Skirmish in a Wider War’ In 1989, the founder of the modern day anti-immigrant movement, John Tanton, told Otis L. Graham Jr. that “I have all along seen the immigration battle as really a skirmish in a wider war . . .” Since that time critics of Tanton have worried that his “wider war” would be one steeped in racism and white nationalism. Critics had reason to worry, particularly because of Tanton’s strong commitment to the false study of eugenics. When one cuts straight to the chase eugenics can be defined as the forced sterilization of poor and brown skinned people. Critics should worry even more. In a recently surfaced memo, The Case for Passive Eugenics, Tanton argues for a softer, gentler eugenics movement because simply “Hitler’s reign in Nazi Germany did little to advance the discussion of eugenics among sensitive persons.” Tanton still serves on the board of his most influential organization - the Federation for American Immigration Reform. (FAIR) Other items to surface in these newly uncovered Tanton memos include: “I’m sure it will give you a new understanding of the Jewish outlook on life, which explains a large part of the Jewish opposition to immigration reform.” “You are saying a lot of things that need to be said, but I anticipate it will be very tough sledding” – John Tanton writing to Jared Taylor of the white supremacist group Council of Conservative Citizens. “I’ve been a reader of your materials for some time, and hope that we can meet some day. Is there any chance that you could come up and join us?” – John Tanton inviting Wayne Lutton of the white supremacist group Council of Conservative Citizens . In December 2007, when the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) added FAIR to their list of hate groups, the anti-immigrant organization responded with a statement of its own. While choosing not to respond to the charges convincingly laid out by SPLC, they did state - while maintaining a straight face - “FAIR is highly respected for the very reason it has always argued immigration policy should not discriminate on the basis of race, ethnicity or religion.” FAIR must have left that respect at the door when it allowed radio talk show host Doug McIntyre without interruption at the Fall 2005 FAIR Director’s Meeting to rant the truth behind FAIR’s political agenda: “The brown toxic cloud strangling Los Angeles never lifts and grows thicker with every immigrant added. One can’t help appreciate the streets of Paris will soon become the streets of LA. However, Paris’ streets erupted while LA’s shall sink into a Third World quagmire much like Bombay or Calcutta, India. When you import that much crime, illiteracy, multiple languages and disease-Americans pick up stakes and move away.” Perhaps FAIR forgot to pass the memo on to staff member, Rosanna Pulido, before she decided to tell an audience attending a debate on immigration what she really thought about the American Catholic Church: “What better way to fill your pews and fill your offering coffers then with inviting in and giving sanctuary to undocumented Hispanics? . . . The Catholic Church is not Catholicism. It has nothing to do with Christianity or the Bible.” -Rosanna Pulido, FAIR Staffer.

Arizona Killings Highlight Risk of Anti Migrant Immigration Movement

PHOENIX (By Jonathan J. Cooper, AP) June 21, 2009 — The tagline on Shawna Forde's anti-migrant immigration web site says her group was "doing the job our government won't do." They wanted to patrol the border, but her small band of activists needed money to do it.

So, authorities say, Forde and two men dressed up as Border Patrol agents and broke into the southern Arizona home of a man they thought was a drug dealer, hunting for money or drugs to sell. They found neither, but killed the man and his 9-year-old daughter.

The May 30 killings rocked an anti-migrant immigration movement that prides itself on being vocal but not violent, and added to a growing list of activists accused of using violence to advance their aims.

In recent weeks, a white supremacist was accused of killing a black guard at the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., and an ardent abortion foe allegedly shot and killed a prominent Kansas abortion doctor.

The possibility activists in the anti-migrant immigration movement would use violence did not surprise Heidi Beirich, research director at the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate groups. "We figured for a long time that we were going to get violence out of this movement," she said.

Her organization says the number of hate groups nationwide has risen 54 percent since 2000, fueled by opposition to Hispanic immigration and, more recently, by the election of the nation's first black president and the economic downturn.

Several groups focusing on stopping migrant immigration formed in the past half-dozen years, and many were drawn to southern Arizona, the busiest corridor in the nation for migrant border crossings.

"Some are using the movement to promote their own bigoted, racist ideology," said Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University-San Bernardino. "But I want to be clear: That's not everyone in the movement, and it poses a real problem." He said the movement's message attracts people with ulterior motives.

Before coming to Arizona, Forde, 41, lived in Everett, Wash., where she ran for the city council in 2007 promising to allow police to check the immigration status of suspects, according to local news accounts.

She became a lighting rod in the community of 100,000 north of Seattle and famous in anti-migrant immigration circles when she alleged that her ex-husband was shot and that she was raped, beaten and shot in retaliation for her immigration activities.

The allegations caught fire and Forde drew a following among online border security advocates. Everett police are investigating the shooting claims but have not made any arrests, police said. An investigation into the rape allegations was closed for insufficient evidence.

Some leaders of the anti-migrant immigration movement said her story didn't add up and that Forde was lying. Her group was small and unorganized, with about 14 members and no formal meetings or activities, said Chuck Stonex, a former group member from Alamagordo, N.M., who severed his ties to the organization following Forde's arrest.

She often talked about buying 40 acres of land for staging border surveillance activities in southern Arizona, but she would get angry when Stonex asked her how she planned to pay for it, he said.

Stonex and Forde once talked about what they would do if they encountered a truck full of drugs in the desert, according to Stonex. Forde said she knew a guy who would sell the drugs and give them 60 percent of the proceeds. "She had her own private agenda," Stonex said. "She was doing her own thing, and she wasn't concerned about who she hurt."