NEW YORK, Feb. 6, 2007
Immigration Fueling White Supremacists
Study: Ku Klux Klan And Neo-Nazis Are Gaining Members As Immigrants Become More Visible
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Groups linked to the Ku Klux Klan, skinheads and neo-Nazis grew significantly more active between 2000 and 2005, a new study says. (AP)
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Groups linked to the Ku Klux Klan, skinheads and neo-Nazis grew significantly more active, holding more rallies, distributing leaflets and increasing their presence on the Internet — much of it focused on stirring anti-immigrant sentiment, a new report released by the Anti-Defamation League says.
"Extremist groups are good at seizing on whatever the hot button is of the day and twisting the message to get new members," Deborah M. Lauter, ADL Civil Rights director, said Monday. "This one seems to be taking hold with more of mainstream America than we'd like to see."
Old Klan chapters have been revived and new ones started throughout the South, historically the heart of the group, and in other places such as Michigan, Iowa and New Jersey, says the report, which was scheduled for official release Tuesday.
Last May in Alabama, an anti-immigration rally included slogans such as, "Let's get rid of the Mexicans!" according to the document, titled "Ku Klux Klan Rebounds."
"The Klan is increasingly cooperating with other extremist groups and Neo-Nazi groups," Lauter said. "That's a new phenomenon."
Between 2000 and 2005, hate groups mushroomed 33 percent and Klan chapters by 63 percent, according to Mark Potok, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate crimes.
Precise data are difficult to pin down, but Potok's group counts as many as 150 Klan chapters with up to 8,000 members nationwide. More than 800 hate groups exist around the country, Southern Poverty research shows.
In the late 1990s, memberships in such groups was crumbling as they lost leaders and struggled to organize, said Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. Many hit bottom around 2000.
"Whenever you think the Klan is down and out, they find another way to reinvent themselves," he said of the recent resurgence.
Historically, the Klan's focus had been to terrorize African-Americans — through race riots, lynchings and other killings — but it reached peak membership at more than 4 million in the 1920s by focusing on immigration.
Newcomers from Ireland and Germany were portrayed as Catholic usurpers invading the United States, taking jobs from native-born Americans and undermining national fabric, Levin said.
Said Potok: "It's remarkable to look back at the nativist sentiments toward Catholics — it's very similar to what we're seeing with Mexicans now."
Today, many white supremacists blame immigrants, particularly Hispanics, for crime, struggling schools or unemployment, for instance. With many Americans already divided on how to revamp laws and practices to address the nation's swelling immigrant communities, immigration "is an issue that works for hate groups," Potok said.
Many Latinos are feeling the effects firsthand. Last September, a Kentucky family originally from El Salvador found a wooden cross burning on their front lawn just weeks after they moved in. Earlier last year, a Latino teenager in Houston was brutally beaten and sodomized while one attacker screamed "White Power!" The victim barely survived, and one attacker was sentenced to life in prison.
"I've been doing (Hispanic advocacy work) for a long, long time and the atmosphere has never been as poisonous as it has been in the last few years," said Lisa Navarrete, a vice president at the National Council of La Raza. "The level of vitriol is new."
Increasingly, fear permeates many Hispanic communities as individuals and businesses are targeted. Last year, La Raza held a workshop at its annual convention titled "Keeping Our Institutions Safe."
"It was very well attended, unfortunately," Navarrete said.
© MMVII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."
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See all 56 CommentsThat is a lot of bull!
Evil does not need 'fueling'.
White supremacist have historically exhibited their evil in America from their own devilish 'nature'!
The terrorists didn't come from Iraq. Oh, but they are there now though, aren't they? Thanks to Bush's glorious war on terror, all we did was trade Afghanistan for Iraq as a terrorist base. Bush could have been a hero if he stopped at Afghanistan. But there wasn't much oil or reconstruction jobs for Haliburton in Afghanistan, so it was off to Iraq. Good job Bush. I hope he doesn't "stand up for us" any more, our security as a nation can't afford it.
Would that be the war against the people that kill fetus babies?? Is that the one you were referring to?
Pretty presumptious of you to think everyone believes in the Bible. Why should a non-Christian or an ahtiest be forced to follow a Christian rule? I thought America was for everyone, not just Christians? You can believe in what you want in YOUR church and in YOUR house, but in OUR government, the laws are for EVERYONE - Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddists and none of the above.
Again, as I said to legendary240, how is being against gay people "standing up for your country"? Sounds like some people just want to stick their nose in other people's business, not protect the morals of the country. Also see my below comment about illegal immigrants.
Legendary240 makes a good point, what's wrong with standing up for our country, for our people, and for our rights?
I don't think that you can blindly put people into the republican or democratic camp, because many people don't believe all of the issues that these party's stand for. I'm sure that there are pro-life democrats and that there are pro-choice republicans. That's just one example as there are too many to list.
How are illegals attacking the country? Unfortuanately, the illegals everyone wants to kick out are the ones doing cr@p jobs, trying to make a living. The bad illegals (i.e., terrorists) won't be stopped one bit. In fact, most terroists will probably be legal, on student visas or something like that.
And exactly how does being against gay people and gay marriage "protect" the family? I hear all the conservatives say that, but no one has yet to prove it. What, is there only a certain number of marriage licenses allowed and if *** take them all up, straight people can't get married? Don't tell my girlfriend, she might make me rush and get married before it's to late because they gay people have arrived. If a gay couple moves in across the street, will all the straight people in the area become sterile and stop having babies?
It's your business to like or not like ***, but if you don't like what they do, then don't look, mind your own business. And it's also not people's business to try and stop what gay people do in their private lives. What if *** came to power and tried to get laws passed to stop straight people from getting married? Wouldn't care for that I'll bet.
Yeah, and republicans are fighting him tooth and nail.
Again, if you are a cetain race and given traits based on that race, that is stereotypical. You can't change your race or origin. But political views will put you into one camp or another. You can change your political views over time and you can match your political views to a party or a political philosophy. You have a choice in that matter. And right now, in 2007, people that support things like anti-gay marriage, tough immigration bills and cutting welfare and such will gravitate towards the republican party and are generally conservative in other matters. If they didn't support those things, they would gravitate towards dems and liberals. In this case, people go to the politcal allegiance, the political allegiance doesn't come to them. That is not being stereotypical. While few people join the KKK and a vast majority of conservatives aren't racists, the ones that do join the KKK and are racist, the majority of them are conservatives.
They care about the border. They care about defending our country. They care about defending the family. They care. Okay, I get it. I guess that the inverse of that is true with democrats and liberals then. You plainly infer that no one would be taking issue with any of this if the republicans and conservatives weren't carrying the flag for it. You are right.
And I am courageous to tell everyone that I don't give a cr@p is someone is gay or an immigrant or whatever. It's not my business. You never heard of live and let live? There's nothing "politically correct" about that. H3ll, I don't even care if someone is a racist, again, their business (unless they try and make racist laws or commit crimes, then it's everyone's business). But this is a discussion forum, so we discuss. I'm not trying to force you into anything.
No, it isn't the same thing and you know it.
legendary240,
I came into the forum and saw people complaining about how republicans were being blamed for a surge in racists' recruitment. The usual liberal media conspiracy stuff that repubs like to blame for, well, pretty much everything that goes wrong. I pointed out that conservative policies on things like banning gay marriage and anti-immigrant legislation were creating a climate where bigoty can become acceptable and even legislated into our laws. It gives hope to these racists that they still have a voice in America. That's no stereotype. Are liberals the ones pushing to ban gay marriage or to kick out all the illegal immigrants out? No, the conservatives, along with some moderate democrats are doing that. That's what's helping to create the climate. Throw in a good dose of anti-Muslim, terrorist fear (agains, stoked mainly by conservatives), and the racists are more encouraged than ever. Identifying political and social trends among politicians and voters is not stereotyping.
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See all 56 Comments