Astro-Turf Right-Wing Fringe And Connections to Immigration Policy

As I noted in previous blogs, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) has long been the face of the right-wing immigration control lobby. Similarly, we see offshoot organizations in Washington State that have paired with conservative groups to sponsor anti-immigrant state initiatives every year since at least 2005 (failing to gather the necessary signatures each year).

In Arizona, SB 1070 and SB 2281 (anti-Ethnic Studies Legislation) are two of the more recent concrete examples of draconian legislation at the state level that seeks to question nationality based on one's outward appearance (in other words, racial profiling). Likewise, both were promoted and backed by FAIR-organized sub-groups.

To get a better idea of FAIR's relevance and it's history, one need only look at the organization's founder, John Tanton and the subsequent anti-immigrant empire he's built since the late 1970s. Below are two videos that give a visual narrative of Tanton and FAIR.



Below is yet another video, courtesy of the Rachel Maddow Show.