Most anti-immigrant groups claim they aren't opposed to immigrants--only to "illegal immigrants." One group is actually named "Americans for Legal Immigration," or ALIPAC.
ALIPAC demonstrated its support for legal immigration by helping defeat a Florida ballot initiative on November 4. The initiative would have eliminated an 82-year-old racist provision in the Florida Constitution originally aimed at all people from Asia, including legal residents. The ALIPAC website carried a posting from a member who said the provision should be left standing because "‘illegal aliens’ should not have ‘rights’ like U.S. citizens have. The only right they should have is deportation!"
According to the New York Times, "The group’s president, William Gheen, did not respond to e-mail messages seeking comment but Enos Schera, 81, who posted the message, said that he was '1,000 percent' satisfied that the law remained in place."
In Florida, an Initiative Intended to End Bias Is Killed
by Damien Cave, New York Times
November 5, 2008
MIAMI — An obscure ballot initiative in Florida intended to end a legacy of bias against Asian-Americans was defeated Tuesday, apparently because voters incorrectly assumed it would prevent illegal immigrants from owning property.
Had it passed, the initiative, known as Amendment No. 1, would have removed from the state’s Constitution language adopted in 1926 allowing the Legislature to prohibit foreigners who were barred from citizenship — Asian-Americans at the time — from owning land. [...]
Read the full article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/us/06florida.html?ref=us
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