Leading Anti-Immigrant Groups Linked to One Man with White Supremacist Ties

Posted by ZP Heller, Brave New Films at 11:25 AM on June 26, 2008.

"Behind the Veil" is a new video that draws the disturbing connections between leading anti-immigrant groups in our country and one man, John Tanton, who is associated with white supremacists. According to Heidi Beirich of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) who narrates the film, some of the most outspoken anti-immigrant groups in the country like the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), the Center for Immigration Studies, NumbersUSA, and the Social Contract Press, are all tied to Tanton. Even if Tanton didn't create them all directly, they still receive funding from U.S. Inc., which Tanton established.

This video is the third from the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), which aims to separate hate groups and their vitriolic rhetoric from the immigration debate. (Learn more and watch their other videos here.) The NCLR and SPLC do a great job of connecting the dots because all too often, the media will give voice to extremists in the immigration debate but then present a group like FAIR for a "more moderate" perspective, when the reality is that they are all related.

It's no coincidence that there has been a sharp rise in the number of hate groups in our country over the past seven years (from 602 in 2000 to 888 in 2007), as the anti-immigrant fervor has reached a fever pitch. And if this connection wasn't apparent before, "Behind the Veil" makes it now.

Tagged as: immigration, xenophobia, hate, john tanton, wayne lutton, us inc

ZP Heller is the editorial director of Brave New Films. He has written for The American Prospect, AlterNet, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Huffington Post, covering everything from politics to pop culture.