It's now wonder Latinos are beginning to feel under siege in America-- judging by the latest out of Utah, they are.
A top Latino blogger at Vivir Latino writes:
I just…can’t even think of anything to say. My mouth is on the floor and I can’t pick it up.
They even included due dates of pregnant women. Due dates.
I feel safe, how about you?
At a time in which the Arizona GOP has made it acceptable for American citizens to go on witch-hunts for undocumented immigrants (i.e. suing police if they don't profile people based on shoes, accents, and skin color), comes this highly disturbing story. The New York Times' Kirk Johnson reports, in "‘Immigrant’ List Sets Off Fears:"
A list of 1,300 Utah residents described as illegal immigrants has sown fear among some Hispanics here, and prompted an investigation into its origins and dissemination.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports:
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert wants to know whether any state employees helped create a list of 1,300 people an anonymous group has publicly accused of being undocumented immigrants.
Herbert on Tuesday ordered several state agencies to determine whether computer records were accessed inappropriately to create the detailed list, which arrived by mail Monday at media outlets, law enforcement agencies, and the state House and Senate. [...] Utah law makes it a misdemeanor to disclose government data not meant for public dissemination, though there are protections for whistle blowers. The list included names, addresses, birth dates, phone numbers, and 31 social security numbers. Also included: the names and dates of birth of 201 children, and the due dates of six pregnant women. Almost every surname is Latino.
The Orwellian-named "Concerned Citizens of the United States" who released the list to media outlets and law enforcement agencies said they would be "listening and watching" to make sure those on the list, a majority of whom are Latino, are rounded up and deported. It's no wonder Latinos are feeling increasingly targeted, even those who've lived in this country for generations. Polling of Latinos conducted for the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund and to be released next week finds that, according to Arturo Vargas, NALEO’s Executive Director:
"Latinos are feeling less optimistic and more under siege."
Scary.
In addition, according to new polling conducted by LatinoMetrics for the Hispanic Federation and League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), immigration has surged as Latinos’ top issue and is now their leading concern, along with the economy. Both native-born and foreign-born Latino citizens strongly favor a comprehensive fix to the immigration system, including a pathway to earned citizenship for the nation's undocumented.
Brent Wilkes, LULAC’s Executive Director, argues:
The fact that immigration reform is now a higher priority for Latinos than the economy and education demonstrates that Latinos have taken offense to the way immigrants have been demonized by politicians and political interest groups and are prepared to vote accordingly.
Utah's 'immigrant hit list,' as some are calling it, is only the latest flashpoint in the nation's immigration debate. When Arizona's controversial immigration bill was signed into law, police chiefs from around the country spoke out. Former Chief Arturo Venegas of Sacramento, CA, the Director of the Law Enforcement Engagement Initiative, argued:
[The law] essentially legislates racial profiling, putting police in the middle of the train tracks to face an onslaught of civil-rights violations lawsuits. No other law in the country allows citizens to sue a government agency for not arresting enough people.
According to Patrick Young of Long Island Wins:
Last year, the Utah Minutemen discussed using lists of suspected undocumented immigrants to pressure employers to fire Latino workers. At the July 2009 meeting of the Utah Minuteman Project, according to the Salt Lake Weekly, "the members discussed the idea of recruiting sympathetic company insiders who could give the group information about undocumented employees and then using the information to challenge management. ‘Pretty soon you empty out those plants,’ said Minuteman member Norm Davis."
Aa I reported yesterday, something similar occurred last week in Arizona. Notices were mailed to businesses employing Latinos saying that they were subject to prosecution under the state’s anti-immigrant law SB 1070.
Utah is considering legislation similar to SB 1070 and has been in the throes of heated anti-immigrant campaign since the measure passed in Arizona.
Finally, in a move that proves that nothing sells in a Republican primary these days like red meat on immigration, nine state Attorneys General – all Republicans – signed onto an amicus brief supporting Arizona’s "papers please" immigration law. The brief was organized by Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, who is running for the Republican gubernatorial primary in a crowded field of five.
On this point, America's Voice founder and Executive Director Frank Sharry argues:
The Republican embrace of Arizona’s immigration law, the escalating tactics of anti-immigrant groups, and the failure of Washington to enact comprehensive immigration reform has fed a climate that is getting increasingly ugly and dangerous. Until responsible leaders grab the wheel and steer this debate towards a workable solution, irresponsible actors will continue recklessly drive the nation into a ditch.
In other words, we're going to need real reform to stop the siege.
Cross-Posted at America's Voice