All Time Low: Center for Immigration Studies Blames Immigrants for Teenage Obesity

The anti-immigrant movement continues to sink lower and lower with attempts made to demonize immigrants, scare people and plant bigotry. With a complete disregard for human decency and common sense, the anti immigrant group Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) are now blaming immigrants for every issue no matter how farfetched or downright false it might be. And just when you thought they hit rock bottom, when you tell yourself there is no possible way for them to sink lower, behold, they dig even deeper and blow your mind.

Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) was founded in 1985 as a project directly under the control of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). CIS is part of a web of controversial anti-immigrant organizations orchestrated by John Tanton, who founded FAIR. The anti-immigrant movement has attempted to blame immigrants for the financial crisis, for increasing taxes and for the overall collapse of the real estate market. Immigrants have been blamed for the growing number of cars on highways, increased gas prices and even the high illiteracy rate in our schools. To top it off, it was only a few months ago that Philip Cafaro who is a writer for anti-immigrant groups such as the CIS and NumbersUSA attempted to link the BP oil spill with a discussion on immigration.

Groups like FAIR, CIS and NumbersUSA have recently tried to push the anti-immigrant movement in new directions. CIS has hit a new low.

This week, David North from the Center for Immigration Studies released an article based on a previous study that links immigration and more specifically illegal immigration to -- get this -- “the broadening midsection of our teenagers.”

David North writes:

“Teenagers used to mow many of the lawns in the area. Now it is small teams of guys from Central America -- generally slim guys -- using power mowers, and, regrettably, leaf blowers. I suspect many of them lack legal status. I have little firsthand contact with them because I mow my own lawn.”

Representative Steve King has already taught us that illegal immigrants could be identified by their shoes or a sixth sense. Racial profiling continues, but this time David North is warning us against ‘slim guys’ mowing our lawns and using -- God forbid -- a leaf blower!

But even for the professional racists at CIS, this is a new low. According to them, the record high rates of teenage obesity sweeping the United States at the moment is a direct result of immigrants coming into the country and taking over the summer jobs of teenagers. David North, the author of this article, has made it quite clear to his readers that laziness or fast food chains are not the problem. Immigrants who are “stealing” the jobs of fifteen year olds who need to be exercising are.

In other words, delivering newspapers, mowing the lawn and babysitting are the vital activities keeping teenagers from the brink of weight related health problems. Teenagers couldn’t possibly just go for a run, work out at the gym, or maybe even just eat healthy. They couldn’t possibly get off the sofa, put down the video games, go for a ride on their bicycles or walk around the neighborhood with their friends.

Nope. All these solutions must be too rational, too concrete, and much too physically demanding than, say, blaming immigrants. So of course, the anti-immigrants like CIS and writers like North continue to cling to the latter.