CROSSES AT THIS BORDER MAY BE BURNING

Hi All, 

I wanted to let you all know that Mayor Kennedy is speaking at the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) in DC tonight.  For those of you who are not familiar with CIS, I can give a brief description, but the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) provides far more detail of CIS and it's sister organizations, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) and Numbers USA.  Together, these organizations form the backbone of the anti-immigrant movement, and all three were founded by John Tanton, a now retired ophthalmologist from Michigan.  

To give you an glimpse of the ideas that underpin these organizations, SPLC notes that, "John Tanton has not merely flirted with and adopted many of the core ideas of white nationalism over the past three decades. He has carried on correspondences with some of the key leaders of the white nationalist movement, meeting and even vacationing with some of them, and pushing many of their central ideas."

In their 2009 report [PDF] on the network of organizations that Tanton created, the SPLC notes  that, "Tanton has for decades been at the heart of the white nationalist scene. He has met with leading white supremacists, promoted anti-Semitic ideas, and associated closely with the leaders of a eugenicist foundation once described by a leading newspaper as a 'neo-Nazi organization'."

Included in Tanton's correspondence with other white nationalists, he once stated his belief that, "[F]or European-American society and culture to persist requires a European-American majority, and a clear one at that."

CIS initially began as a project of FAIR in 1985, but quickly split off to become an "independent" think tank for the anti-immigrant movement.  The organization's academic standards are non-existent, and they write entire papers bashing immigrants only to admit that there is no actual data to support their position.  The reason becomes clear when you see that their staff and board members have written for vdare.com, a white nationalist website.  Indeed, their Senior Policy Analyst once said that immigration threatens, "[T]he American people as a whole and the future of Western civilization."

We think it is deplorable that the mayor of Lynn would be speaking to such a group.  We ask that you call the Lynn City Hall and let them know that it is unacceptable for Mayor Kennedy to be speaking to such a group.  You can reach City Hall at (781) 598-4000.

Thanks,

Sarang Sekhavat
Federal Policy Director
Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition
105 Chauncy St. 9th floor
Boston, MA 02111
(617) 350-5480 x212
ssekhavat@miracoalition.org

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