The Protect Arizona Now initiative is supported by a coalition of extremist anti-immigration groups and individuals. They use racist, inflammatory language and exaggeration to scare Arizonans into thinking that PAN will help keep immigrants from "invading" our state and destroying "our culture." Their ultimate goal is the militarization of our borders. They fail to acknowledge either the cultural heritage of Arizona or the large number of economic benefits that immigrants provide to Arizona. They also do not address the need for a humane border program.
The Director of Protect Arizona Now is Kathy McKee of Glendale, a former PeTA activist. Here's what McKee has to say about the dangers of immigration:
"This is ridiculous to spend the money to make it [a] bilingual society. Part of the culture is dress, diet, though that means different things to different people. I like grits and collard greens, but I think that whatever is our culture, and I think that is debatable, what is the very essence of our culture, we should be allowed to keep it without having to finance second languages and other cultural influence from other countries."
(Horizonte, KAET TV, Dec. 18, 2003)
PAN Treasurer Rusty Childress, owner of Childress Auto Mall in Phoenix, agrees that we need to protect the United States from immigrants because "we need to be careful that we don't become the third world country that a lot of these illegal aliens are running from." Mr. Childres in this quote ignores the many assets that hardworking immigrants provide to our State economy.
(Horizonte, KAET TV, Dec. 18, 2003)
The leaders of the PAN initiative drive do not share the opinions of the majority of Arizonans. We understand that Arizona's economy and culture benefit greatly from immigration. We understand that the withholding of very basic resources is not the key to a sane and humane border policy.
Citizens Against Illegal Immigration
United Patriots of America
NumbersUSA
Protect Arizona Now is also supported by a number of anti-immgration organizations with ties to racist "white nationalist" organizations. The main goal of white nationalists is the preservation of white European culture. While not as overtly racist as white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan, many white nationalists fear that unchecked immigration will lead to the destruction of a separate white culture. For a brief analysis of the links between anti-immigration groups and white nationalism, read "White Nationalism and Immigration Today" by Loretta J. Ross. Also see "The Puppeteer," a special report by the Southern Poverty Law Center detailing the connections between major anti-immigrant groups and racist organizations.
American Border Patrol
Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)
This group is headed by Kathy McKee, the Director of Protect Arizona Now. They claim that illegal immigration leads to "the destruction of our language and our culture" and a "breakdown of law and order, and total absence of government accountability to taxpayers."
This group has contributed money to the PAN campaign. The President of United Patriots of America, Chris Simcox, is the founder of "Citizens Border Patrol Militia," a vigilante organization that patrols the Arizona/Mexico border in armed groups to keep immigrants from crossing. Simcox stated in an interview with the Los Angeles Times that it doesn't matter if he dies in a blaze of gunfire to protect the U.S. borders (HispanicVista.com).
NumbersUSA provides information attempting to link "mass illegal immigration" with environmental problems. The group's leader, Roy Beck, is the Washington editor of The Social Contract, a journal that has published articles by prominent white nationalists (SPLC Report).
This California-based white nationalist group is headed by Glenn Spencer, who believes that the Catholic Church and the Mexican government are conspiring to reconquer the Southwest for Mexico. His newsletter has published stories arguing that people of European descent have a right to protect their culture and bloodlines against the rising "alien tide" (Center for New Community Background Brief). Spencer is well-known for inflammatory, racist statements like this: "The Mexican culture is based on deceit. Chicanos and Mexicanos lie as a means of survival" (Los Angeles Times, August 28, 1996).
A group with close ties to white nationalist organizations. Their weekly television show has featured prominent white nationalists and far-right conspiracy theorists. They also provide major funding for Glenn Spencer's American Border Patrol and other anti-immigrant groups (Center for New Community Special Report). According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, FAIR's executive director Dan Stein "has warned that certain immigrant groups are engaged in 'competitive breeding' aimed at diminishing white power." FAIR has pledged to donate $50,000 to the PAN campaign.
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