Anti-Immigration Hardliner Goes Ballistic Over Obama's Answers on the Issue

By Kyle Hussein de Beausset, The Sanctuary. Posted September 29, 2008.

Surprise. Surprise.

Mark Krikorian found Obama's answers to the questionnaire sent to the candidates by The Sanctuary.

Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Same-Sex Couples [Mark Krikorian]

Obama's answers to a questionnaire on immigration

from a hard-left group are mostly unremarkable - he backs the procedure supporters call "comprehensive immigration reform," does not necessarily oppose raids and detention of illegals so long as they're done humanely, etc. (h/t Jennifer McFadyen) But one thing that I suppose I should have known but didn't is that he supports the "Uniting American Families Act," which would extend spousal immigration rights to same-sex couples. So now McCain has two extreme Obama positions on immigration to attack: driver's licenses for illegals and immigration for gay couples. Will McCain ever use them to criticize Obama? No - he'll just keep criticizing Obama for being too weak in support of amnesty.

For a little history on Mark Krikorian, he came to Boston University some time ago with Lou Barletta where he was beaten badly in a debate about U.S. migration policy. 

>I attended the debate and it inspired one of my first posts about "attrition through enforcement".  Mark Krikorian, through his reactionary Center for Immigration Studies, a spin-off of the hate group FAIR, has been one of the primary architects behind the concept of "attrition through enforcement". 

Attrition through enforcement is one of the most horrific policies being carried out in the U.S. today.  Nativists know that they cannot deport every unauthorized migrant in the U.S.  Instead, they've decided on a policy of making unauthorized migrants in the U.S. so miserable that they leave on their own, which they call "attrition through enforcement".  Nativists like Mark Krikorian want make conditions for migrants in the U.S. worse than the majority world conditions they are fleeing from. 

Mark Krikorian promotes a policy of mass misery in the U.S., and then he feels he has the right to chide Obama for his "extreme" positions.  What's worse, drivers's licenses for unauthorized migrants and allowing binational same-sex couples to stay together, or policy that reminds me of that of the brutal dictarships of Central America?

The good news is that even if nativists make a huge deal about Obama's answers to The Sanctuary's questionnaire, it won't matter.  Nativists have rendered themselves electorally irrelevant in the presidential elections.  They all hate McCain anyway and many have explicitly endorsed nativist extraoardinaire Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party.

Already Obama's decision to answer The Sanctuary's questionnaire has paid dividends for the campaign.  It's been covered by About.com, Reuters, and New America Media, CNN, as well as by the Latino and pro-migrant netroots in a way that paints McCain very negatively.  Most importantly, this message is getting to the Latinos that will decide this election, with Spanish language newspapers like El Planeta reprinting Obama's answers in full.

Complain all you want Mark Krikorian, it won't do you any good.

See more stories tagged with: immigration, obama, election08, cis

Kyle Hussein de Beausset is the founder of Citizen Orange and a co-founder of The Sanctuary.

Liked this story? Get top stories in your inbox each week from Immigration! Sign up now »