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20 May, 2010 21:08

US Politicians demonizing immigrants without cause

Crime on the US-Mexico border is down and violence on the American side is greatly reduced, but you would never know it from listening to American politicians.

Political spin is labeling the border as a violent region with an increase in crime even though studies show otherwise.

Brian Becker, the National Coordinator of the A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition said all the talk is an attempt to marginalize immigrant workers.

“The politicians who are hyping this need an excuse; they need a pretext, a justification,” said Becker, although in fact, there is no evidence of rising crime or terror at the border.

Blaming immigrants and using them as scapegoats is a familiar tactic. Becker even raised the infamous example of the Nazi regime.

"It was the favorite tactic of the Nazis in Germany in the 1930’s; blame the Jews or blame the East European immigrants,” said Becker.

Becker said it is the banks that have been bailed out by the government and the politicians who support them that are to blame, not the poor immigrants.

“There is massive unemployment. Did the immigrants layoff these workers? No, they were laid off by corporations. There’s foreclosures. Did the immigrants foreclose peoples’ homes? No, those were the banks,” said Becker.

Becker added that politicians are playing "the game of demonization” with immigrants to better serve their political interests.

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