Our California immigration attorneys watched last week as senatorial candidate Sharron Angle (R-Nev.) told a group of Hispanic high school students she was uncertain her recent anti-immigration campaign commercial characterized Hispanics illegally attempting to cross into the U.S. The advertisement in question showed a group of brown-skinned men tagged as "illegal aliens" passing through an opening in a chain-link fence in the dark of night.
According to Politico, in a response to a student's question about portraying Hispanics in a negative light, Angle said the advertisement was about border security and that she was "not sure those are Latinos in that commercial". She then noted that the "terrorists" came through "our northern border" and concluded "...we cannot allow terrorists, we cannot allow anyone to come across our border if we don't know why they are coming."
That same day, Politico reported that Angle, in perhaps a misguided attempt to reference America's "melting pot" roots, told the same group they looked "more Asian" to her than Hispanic. She further noted that a reporter had once erroneously called her the "first Asian legislator" in Nevada, and suggested appearances can be deceiving.
Meanwhile, just this week The Nation magazine published an in-depth investigative report on former CNN newsman Lou Dobbs, who is perhaps best known for his venomous diatribes against "illegal aliens" and employers who hire them. The report reveals that Dobbs has employed undocumented workers from both the landscaping and horse industry over a number of years to manage property and possessions in Vermont, New Jersey and Florida.
Dobbs, who had a reported audience capture of more than 800,000 and earned an annual salary of $6 million with CNN, has brought his anti-immigration message at least twice to Tea Party rallies as a keynote speaker since leaving the cable news network. He recently told FOX News he is considering a run for Senate and has not ruled out running for president in 2012.
Apparently, producing on-air - or on-demand - rants railing again "illegal employers" is both more profitable and easier than literally policing his own backyard hiring practices which includes employing undocumented workers in low-wage, low-skilled positions in three states.
Dobbs carefully built his anti-immigrant reputation upon especially virulent criticism toward contractor hires - a practice he adopted to address care and management of his daughter's show horses and his carefully manicured lawns. Relying upon a staffing contractor essentially passes the employee verification buck from his hands to the hiring agent.
With that said, Dobbs has with equal care constructed his newsman reputation on a thirty-year history of thoughtful investigative practices. One would think he would be the sort to at least require his contractors ensure potential hires held appropriate work visas before becoming employees of The Dobbs Group.
Yet, at least five former employees of The Dobbs Group - some of whom worked for Dobbs for years - went on-the-record with The Nation admitting they were knowingly hired on despite their undocumented status.
Like Angle, and gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman (R-Calif.), Dobbs is more than willing to demonize undocumented workers when it advances his political agenda before a conservative audience. While all three "candidates" openly downplay such tactics when courting Latino voters, their efforts at double-speak are largely transparent.
Our Los Angeles immigration lawyers at Howard Law represent immigrants who have been charged with a crime or are facing deportation proceedings. The office offers confidential appointments to discuss your rights. Call 1-800-872-5925 or contact us through this website.
