# Why the sudden explosion of anti-immigrant sentiment in the USA? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 17, 2014, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-explosion-of-anti-immigrant-sentiment-in-the-usa/693369 "2014-07-17T16:26:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-explosion-of-anti-immigrant-sentiment-in-the-usa/693369/61 "2014-07-18T14:15:09Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > There is a sudden explosion of children from Central America crossing the border illegally. And, the law does no allow us to simply send them back, as it does if the children were Mexican. That is what makes the current situation different from the status quo of X number of illegal immigrants entering the country every month. > > And we’re talking about “illegal immigration” here, not “immigration”. The question was why there was an explosion of “anti immigrant sentiment”, i contend that there isn’t any more anti immigrant sentiment than there usually is. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-explosion-of-anti-immigrant-sentiment-in-the-usa/693369/62 "2014-07-18T14:22:52Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > Of course it was hostility to white immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe that led to the immigration quotas of the 1920s that didn’t get struck down until the mid-60s. And of course at the time many white Americans (of North Euro descent) did not see Southern Euros as really “white.” It’s an old problem. See [_How the Irish Became White._](http://www.amazon.com/Irish-Became-White-Routledge-Classics/dp/0415963095/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405693357&sr=8-1&keywords=how+the+irish+became+white) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-explosion-of-anti-immigrant-sentiment-in-the-usa/693369/63 "2014-07-18T14:27:21Z")
Older than that, even. > [@Benjamin Franklin](#): > > Why should Pennsylvania, founded by the English, become a Colony of Aliens, who will shortly be so numerous as to Germanize us instead of our Anglifying them, and will never adopt our Language or Customs, any more than they can acquire our Complexion. > > 1. Which leads me to add one Remark: That the Number of purely white People in the World is proportionably very small. All Africa is black or tawny. Asia chiefly tawny. America (exclusive of the new Comers) wholly so. And in Europe, the Spaniards, Italians, French, Russians and Swedes, are generally of what we call a swarthy Complexion; as are the Germans also, the Saxons only excepted, who with the English, make the principal Body of White People on the Face of the Earth. I could wish their Numbers were increased. And while we are, as I may call it, Scouring our Planet, by clearing America of Woods, and so making this Side of our Globe reflect a brighter Light to the Eyes of Inhabitants in Mars or Venus, why should we in the Sight of Superior Beings, darken its People? why increase the Sons of Africa, by Planting them in America, where we have so fair an Opportunity, by excluding all Blacks and Tawneys, of increasing the lovely White and Red? But perhaps I am partial to the Complexion of my Country, for such Kind of Partiality is natural to Mankind. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-explosion-of-anti-immigrant-sentiment-in-the-usa/693369/64 "2014-07-18T14:32:24Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Older than that, even. Wow. I was familiar with some of Franklin’s writings re. “letting non-Anglos become Americans”, but calling the Swedes “swarthy”… :eek: Most of them barely get tans, by Southern European standards! ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-explosion-of-anti-immigrant-sentiment-in-the-usa/693369/65 "2014-07-18T14:45:39Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > It was a hypothetical. I thought that was obvious. It _was_ obvious. I’m just amused by the image of entire provinces emptying out just to work below American minimum wage. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-explosion-of-anti-immigrant-sentiment-in-the-usa/693369/66 "2014-07-18T15:41:54Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Wow. I was familiar with some of Franklin’s writings re. “letting non-Anglos become Americans”, but calling the Swedes “swarthy”… :eek: Most of them barely get tans, by Southern European standards! “Tawny” is a rather charming old word, though: you almost never see a good case of tawniness in immigration discussions these days. “Tawny Mexicans” also sounds much more appealing than “swarthy Swedes”, although to be honest it sounds even more like the heroine of a romance novel. _“Tawnee Mexicance swirled her raven hair over her shoulders as she turned her amber eyes full on the insolent vaquero.”_ ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-explosion-of-anti-immigrant-sentiment-in-the-usa/693369/67 "2014-07-18T15:47:58Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > The question was why there was an explosion of “anti immigrant sentiment”, i contend that there isn’t any more anti immigrant sentiment than there usually is. Not just an explosion-a _sudden_ explosion! As opposed to a gradual or plodding explosion, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-explosion-of-anti-immigrant-sentiment-in-the-usa/693369/68 "2014-07-18T15:53:45Z")
[“Swarthy” yourself, Ben:](http://redwoodlibrarystore.org/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=9386) > [@](#): > > Date: 1785-1862 > Title: Benjamin Franklin > Creator: King, Charles Bird > > Adult male subject, bust-length view […] He has shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes […] ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-explosion-of-anti-immigrant-sentiment-in-the-usa/693369/69 "2014-07-18T15:54:52Z")
For illustration, Ross Perot grabbed a significant chunk of the vote in 1992, and opposition to illegal immigration was a huge part of his platform. This issue didn’t just pop up last week. There have always been a lot of Americans opposed to illegal immigration- they’ve just been ignored by both major parties. The Democrats reflexively side with impoverished non-whites, while the GOP establishment loves them their cheap labor. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-explosion-of-anti-immigrant-sentiment-in-the-usa/693369/70 "2014-07-18T15:55:03Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > The question was why there was an explosion of “anti immigrant sentiment”, i contend that there isn’t any more anti immigrant sentiment than there usually is. In fairness my OP title really does a poor job of asking the question I was aiming for, which is really why the issue has suddenly, now, become twice as politically explosive as it was before. _Sentiment_ is something that does not change dramatically, so that was a poor choice of word. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-explosion-of-anti-immigrant-sentiment-in-the-usa/693369/71 "2014-07-18T15:57:57Z")
At least according to the paranoid-Right, illegal immigration is part of the Obomination’s plan to institute socialism in America. Millions of soon-to-be-pardoned illegal immigrants will be added to the dependent class, expanding even further the federal bureaucracy. And as an added bonus, they’ll presumably all vote Democrat to keep the perks coming. IOW, the paranoid-Right sees it as a reenactment of Ayn Rand’s parable of Starnesville and the Twentieth Century Motor Company. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-explosion-of-anti-immigrant-sentiment-in-the-usa/693369/72 "2014-07-18T16:48:32Z")
You don’t even have to look at the paranoid right to see claims that “Obama wants them here because they’ll vote Democratic”. That sort of sentiment is everywhere, notwithstanding the present legal impossibility that these kids will get to vote (or the accuracy of the underlying assumption that illegal immigrants are natural Democratic voters.) > [@RickJay](#): > > In fairness my OP title really does a poor job of asking the question I was aiming for, which is really why the issue has suddenly, now, become twice as politically explosive as it was before. _Sentiment_ is something that does not change dramatically, so that was a poor choice of word. In that case it’s because of a recent upswing in the number of unaccompanied minors crossing the border, who are allegedly swamping federal detention facilities. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-explosion-of-anti-immigrant-sentiment-in-the-usa/693369/73 "2014-07-18T18:18:06Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Wow. I was familiar with some of Franklin’s writings re. “letting non-Anglos become Americans”, but calling the Swedes “swarthy”… :eek: Most of them barely get tans, by Southern European standards! Well, actually, [he might have meant Finns](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=17076546&highlight=swedes#post17076546). ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-explosion-of-anti-immigrant-sentiment-in-the-usa/693369/74 "2014-07-18T18:21:45Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > For illustration, Ross Perot grabbed a significant chunk of the vote in 1992, and opposition to illegal immigration was a huge part of his platform. > > This issue didn’t just pop up last week. There have always been a lot of Americans opposed to illegal immigration- they’ve just been ignored by both major parties. The Democrats reflexively side with impoverished non-whites, while the GOP establishment loves them their cheap labor. Actually, both parties are **divided** on the issue. The Dem coalition includes labor interests who don’t want immigrant wage-competition, and the Pub coalition includes nativist paleocons who feel the same way with the addition of racial/ethnic prejudice. But that’s the bases – both parties’ leaderships are pro-immigration for the reasons you state, or at least they were, until the mostly-paleocon Tea Party became such a big deal within the GOP. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2014, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-explosion-of-anti-immigrant-sentiment-in-the-usa/693369/75 "2014-07-18T19:47:52Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > A lot of people here want to believe anti-immigrant sentiment MUST be racist in nature. Personally, if I hated Mexicans, I should probably stop marrying them. I can honestly say not only that “Some of my best friends are Hispanic” but “MOST of my family and best friends are Hispanic.” > > Lest anyone think anti-immigrant feeling is purely related to racism, here’s something to consider" Cesar Chavez HATED “wetbacks” (HIS word, not mine). > > He and his brother organized groups of Hispanic American union farm workers to beat up Mexicans who tried to cross the border. He didn’t view Mexicans as his brown-skinned brethren, he saw them for what they were: foreign scabs who were helping Big Growers to hold down wages. > > MOST of us on the SDMB are educated, and most of us are working at jobs that Mexican immigrants aren’t likely to take. As a result, many of us are too blase about the effect illegal immigrants have on blue collar workers of ALL races in the USA. > > The unemployment rate among black Americans is extremely high. How can anyone argue we need millions more foreigners to fill blue collar jobs? UNLESS, that is, you’re saying black Americans don’t want to work (IS that what you’re implying?). > > My first wife’s father was a Texas-born Hispanic. He worked in the oil fields of South Texas most of his life. It was hard, but he made enough money to buy a house and put two kids through college. HE’S the type of man whose job would have been threatened by illegal immigration. > > I don’t hate Mexicans. I don’t even BLAME them for wanting to come here. Their skin tone and their language is different, but in most respects, a Mexican crossing the border probably probably has a lot in common with my peasant Irish ancestors. It’s just an unfortunate FACT that the USA can’t take in EVERYBODY who wants to come here. > > Do I like being on the side of SOME anti-immigrant folks who definitely ARE racist? No- but shouldn’t YOU be uneasy about being on the side of Big Growers and Big Business? Racist bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2014, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-explosion-of-anti-immigrant-sentiment-in-the-usa/693369/76 "2014-07-19T00:08:42Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > …alleged multicultural failures like France and Germany Allegations of failure require a serious and honest effort in the first place. Neither has shown much interest in actually being multicultural. > [@Nava](#): > > Wow. I was familiar with some of Franklin’s writings re. “letting non-Anglos become Americans”, but calling the Swedes “swarthy”… :eek: Most of them barely get tans, by Southern European standards! You must view it through the lens that Ben Franklin was probably the snarkiest guy of his time over here. That quote fairly drips with sarcasm. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2014, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-explosion-of-anti-immigrant-sentiment-in-the-usa/693369/77 "2014-07-19T14:57:03Z")
> [@Ibn\_Warraq](#): > > Racist bullshit. So, you serious, or was an attempt at comedy that completely whooshed me? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2014, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-explosion-of-anti-immigrant-sentiment-in-the-usa/693369/78 "2014-07-19T18:28:02Z")
**astorian** , honest question, but did my comments on the large number of immigrants in Canada come as a surprise to you? It kind of seemed like you were assuming we didn’t have lots of immigrants up here, or that the country wasn’t multicultural. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2014, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-explosion-of-anti-immigrant-sentiment-in-the-usa/693369/79 "2014-07-19T19:11:37Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > So, you serious, or was an attempt at comedy that completely whooshed me? No, your claims about Mexican immigrants being “foreign scabs” is racist bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2014, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-explosion-of-anti-immigrant-sentiment-in-the-usa/693369/80 "2014-07-19T19:30:10Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > **astorian** , honest question, but did my comments on the large number of immigrants in Canada come as a surprise to you? It kind of seemed like you were assuming we didn’t have lots of immigrants up here, or that the country wasn’t multicultural. I’m not sure why that is relevant to the issue we are facing in the US. For example, would Canadians be OK if we provided a safety corridor through the US so that all the illegal immigrants coming into the US could pass on to Canada and reside there? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-explosion-of-anti-immigrant-sentiment-in-the-usa/693369.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-sudden-explosion-of-anti-immigrant-sentiment-in-the-usa/693369.md?page=5)