Radio Hosts Enlisted in Effort, Which Is Aimed at Rousing Area Activists Before Week of Lobbying
By Pamela Constable and N.C. Aizenman
As the debate over immigration reform takes shape in Congress, radio talk show hosts will headline a rally against illegal immigration across from the White House today as a preamble to a week of lobbying on Capitol Hill.
Organizers hope the radio personalities, whose shows across the country often are forums for heated anti-immigrant rhetoric, will galvanize an array of groups into a potent force. The effort is aimed at reflecting grass-roots concerns raised by Washington area residents, such as over job centers for mostly immigrant day laborers in Herndon and Gaithersburg.
“We all see the illegal aliens marching down the streets, screaming, ‘We are America’ and ‘We demand citizenship.’ We are trying to offer a venue where Americans can come and express their support for secure borders and an equal application of existing laws,” said D.A. King, an ex-Marine from Georgia who leads the Dustin Inman Society, which is sponsoring the rally.
Surveys show that a majority of Americans favor tightening security along the border with Mexico. But the public is divided on how to treat the more than 10 million illegal immigrants who live in the United States.
A recent Washington Post poll found that 81 percent of people said the government was “not doing enough” to stop illegal immigration. But 62 percent said those already in the country should be offered a chance to keep their jobs and apply for legal immigration status, while 35 percent said they should be deported.
Most legislative proposals call for some path toward legalization for those in the country illegally.
Organizers of today’s demonstration say they plan to focus on three issues: improving border security, opposing amnesty for immigrants living illegally in the country and enforcing U.S. laws, including those against hiring illegal immigrants.
In the Washington region, activists said, many residents have strong negative opinions about illegal immigration but are fearful of being labeled anti-Latino if they speak out. The activists also said people tend to become more energized by problems in their communities, such as loitering laborers or crowded housing, than by national policy debates.
“People don’t want to be vilified or called racists. They will send an anonymous e-mail but not go to meetings,” said George Taplin, who heads the Virginia chapter of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, an Arizona-based group that has led efforts to seal the U.S.-Mexico border. Taplin said some local activists may go to the rally, but only if they belong to national groups.
Greg Letiecq, an activist from Manassas, said that the rally was “a wonderful idea” but that it would be difficult to persuade a sizable group of residents to take part, even though many are concerned about local problems associated with illegal immigrants, especially crowded housing.
“People send me e-mails saying we need to do something, but they don’t have the time, the vision or the background to pull it off,” he said.
There is clearly a strong undercurrent of anger against illegal immigrants among area residents. In Herndon, plans to open a job site for immigrant day laborers last year led to a protracted fight that bitterly divided the town and drew national media attention. A similar proposal in Gaithersburg also aroused local opposition, although the center opened last week without incident.
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