Defeat for reason on licenses
EDITORIAL Otros Titulares Derrota de la razón en las licencias
The politics of fear regarding undocumented immigrants has this country of immigrants sinking into a quagmire of misinformation, bias, and intimidation.
We are allowing a small but vocal group of xenophobes and racists, political opportunists and spineless politicians to steer a public policy discussion away from common sense solutions and towards knee-jerk reactions. In the process, the media are empowering reactionary pundits as key actors who now make and break policy initiatives.
When Governor Eliot Spitzer introduced a modest plan to undo the mess former Governor George Pataki had created by stripping more than 100,000 undocumented New Yorkers of their driver’s licenses, this paper applauded his move. It made sense for the economic livelihood and public safety of New York City and State. The plan fully took into account security considerations.
Instead, the xenophobic venom that keeps undermining immigration reform at the federal level rose up to choke the initiative in its cradle. Yesterday, Spitzer officially withdrew the second, three-tiered version of the license policy. It is the latest casualty of the anti-immigrant lobby—a well funded force that brooks no compromise, no matter how reasonable.
As conservative Republicans, and some jellyfish Democrats, pounced on the policy, other troubling missteps helped the anti- immigrant alarmists to gain traction.
For one, it’s difficult to believe that Spitzer staffers did not anticipate the hysteria of anti-immigrant groups and did not plan accordingly. After all, we are living through the latest anti-immigrant wave in a history laced with nativist spasms.
The hyped specter of a big, scary “otherâ€? is a good way, some have found, to increase the polarization of our already divided society and shut down meaningful debate, whether the “menace” is Commies threatening our democracy or gays damaging the moral fiber of this country, or now, the discovery of a long-standing community of undocumented immigrants.
The ugly truth is that this anti-immigrant mobilization is imbued with racism and xenophobia. It includes the participation of KKK groups, the funding of individuals who promote eugenics, and an all-white Congressional caucus. [more]