Rep. Linda Sanchez

Rep. Linda Sanchez Tells The Truth About Senate Bill 1070

 

Many politicians have recently spoken out publicly about Arizona’s SB 1070, but few are telling the whole truth. Some, like Rep. Luis Gutierrez, attack the law and rightly argue that it encourages racial profiling. Others take the opposite view, praising Arizona’s law as a response to the failure of the federal government to act. Then you have flip-floppers like John McCain who turned his back on immigrant reform advocates and took “a tougher stand” on immigration in response plummeting opinion polls in a race against anti-immigrant challenger J.D. Hayworth.


At the state level you have anti-immigrant politicians like Daryl Metcalfe who are attempting to pass copycat  laws in their home states. You also have state legislators who are completely opposed to the bill. Up until recently, however, few politicians have spoken out against the organization behind SB 1070, hate group Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).


On Tuesday, California Rep. Linda Sanchez changed that.


Sanchez spoke out against SB 1070 in a radio interview stating,

“There’s a concerted effort behind promoting these kinds of laws on a state-by-state basis by people who have ties to white supremacy groups,” she continued “It’s been documented. It’s not mainstream politics. (Legislators) are being approached by folks, who are front organizations for white supremacist hate groups. They propose the language of these bills and get people to carry these bills in the state legislatures.”

It took a very brave politician to speak out against the anti-immigrant movement behind SB 1070. Rep. Sanchez hit the nail on the head with her comments. The organization Sanchez is referring to, that approaches state legislators like Russell Pearce of Arizona and Daryl Metcalfe of Pennsylvania, is the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI). Sanchez is also correct when she states that the organization(s) are fronts for  hate groups. IRLI is the legal arm of FAIR. FAIR is listed by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group for its strong ties to white nationalism.


In the last few days, FAIR has loudly condemned Sanchez’s comments. Dan Stein, FAIR’s president, stated that Sanchez’s comments have no factual basis. Remember the last time Dan Stein attempted to defend FAIR from its irrefutable ties to white nationalists? That’s right, he was taken apart by Rachel Maddow on her national news program. So let’s show Dan Stein again why his organization, FAIR, is a hate group that has ties to white nationalists. Dan, and anyone else who wants proof, click here and here.


Linda Sanchez didn’t say what people wanted to hear, she told the truth instead; calling out FAIR on its ties to white nationalists and underhanded behavior in American politics. FAIR and its legal arm, Immigration Reform Law Institute, were not shy about taking credit for SB1070, so they should also come clean on their controversial founder and racist associations. Let’s hope Rep. Sanchez’s comments pave the way for more politicians to expose this hate group’s detrimental effects on democracy.