Ethnic identity group attacks Ashcroft on immigration

Issue 60: January 29, 2001

+== TIME OUT PROJECT ==+

On January 25, the corporate-funded Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) held a press conference in Washington, DC to announce its opposition to the confirmation of John Ashcroft as U.S. Attorney General. Participants in the press conference accused the former senator of being "anti-immigrant" and demanded an attorney general that would "help Hispanics," reported QuePasa (http://www.quepasa.com).

In a January 26 telephone conversation with ProjectUSA, Marisa Demeo, MALDEF spokesperson, said the group’s main concern was that Ashcroft would not treat naturalized citizens, legal immigrants and native-born citizens equally. Ms. Demeo (202) 293-2828 said her fears were based on Ashcroft’s 1996 vote to deny food stamps and Social Security payouts to naturalized citizens.

In spite of strong popular sentiment against giving welfare to immigrants, Ms. Demeo reasoned that since many naturalized citizens are of Latino ancestry, Ashcroft’s vote against welfare for immigrants demonstrated that he "does not represent the interests of Latinos," though Demeo stopped short of calling him racist.

However, Senator Ashcroft is hardly the most strident anti-immigration public figure since Chief Sitting Bull. Better Immigration, a Washington-based group that advocates returning immigration to traditional levels and grades Congressional voting records on the issue (http://www.BetterImmigration.com/reportcardintro.html) gives Ashcroft a "D" on his immigration policy because he "usually supports higher immigration, population growth and foreign labor."

According to Roy Beck, head of Better Immigration (703) 816 8820, MALDEF’s opposition to Ashcroft demonstrates that "unless a leader supports totally open borders and the eradication of all distinctions between citizens of this country and citizens of other countries, MALDEF apparently cannot be pleased. I am frankly amazed to see that MALDEF opposes a senator who in nearly every opportunity regarding immigration issues has sided with the high-immigration lobby instead of the needs of most Americans. My guess is that MALDEF is using this opportunity to extract concessions from Sen. Ashcroft that he will not fully enforce immigration laws."

When asked to comment on the accusations that John Ashcroft is "anti-Latino," Mindy Tucker, a spokesperson for the Ashcroft transition team (202) 513 7561, noted that Ashcroft has been endorsed by an association of Latino police officers.

+== CALL TO ACTION ==+

MALDEF is a race-based organization that openly admits to being interested only in furthering the interests of one ethnic group: Latinos. Ms. Demeo claimed that MALDEF’s opposition to Ashcroft is based on his "unequal treatment" of citizens. But, the irony of MALDEF’s own unequal treatment of citizens was apparently lost on the group’s spokesperson.

While ProjectUSA condemns groups like MALDEF as racist, Glen Spencer of VCT (http://www.americanpatrol.com/) goes farther, seeing MALDEF motivated by dreams of conquest. He points out that Mario Obledo, the co-founder of MALDEF told a Los Angeles radio audience in 1998 that "California is going to be a Hispanic state, and anyone who doesn’t like it should leave — they should go back to Europe."

Most Americans regard this kind of rhetoric inflammatory and irresponsible. Yet mainstream American corporations (and the powerful Ford Foundation) actually contribute hundreds of thousands of dollars every year to MALDEF. (For a list of corporate sponsors, see: http://www.americanpatrol.com/MALDEF/MALDEFcontributors97_98.html)

One of these corporate sponsors is Pepsico, the giant multinational maker of soft drinks and snack foods. Pepsi has given MALDEF large sums of money over the years to fund its divisive agenda. Indeed, in the racial "diversity" section of its website, the corporation boasts, "The PepsiCo Foundation gave grants totaling $13 million in 1999, of which a significant portion went to organizations championing diversity efforts."

Call Jackie Miller at Pepsi (914) 253-2000, and tell her you do not want to support racist organizations and you resent having the money you spend on Pepsi, Tropicana and Frito-Lay products being used to promote racial discord.

+== QUOTE OF THE WEEK ==+

Is it wrong for me to love my own? Is it wicked for me because my skin is red? Because I am Sioux? Because I was born where my father lived? Because I would die for my people and my country?

Chief Sitting Bull
Hunkpapa Sioux (1831-1890)

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