Republicans Admit Anti-Immigration Position Driven By Racism
Buzzfeed has the array of Republicans, some hinting, some saying outright, that the party’s anti-immigration attitudes are driven by racism. One unnamed Republican congressman admits, “I hate to say this, because these are my people — but I hate to say it, but it’s racial.” The Southern lawmaker added, “If you go to town halls people say things like, ‘These people have different cultural customs than we do.’ And that’s code for race.”
…some Republicans who back an immigration overhaul, including Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and one of the Republican Party’s most vocal champions of a pathway to citizenship, acknowledge that race remains a reality in the immigration debate.
“There will always be people [who have] different reasons for opposing the change. We have a history in this country of demagoguery when it comes [to immigration]. You know, ‘Irish Need Not Apply.’ There’s nothing new going on today that’s gone on before. This isn’t the first time that there’s been some ugliness around the issue of immigration,” Graham said.
