The American Civil Liberties Union - Defending the Nazis but Not the Mexicans

The American Civil Liberties Union - Defending the Nazis but Not the Mexicans

In 1978, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) defended the right of the American Nazi Party to hold a rally in Skokie, Illinois. They won in the Supreme Court, but lost a lot of support from their members. In December of 2005, the ACLU put out a memo to 'interested persons' regarding H.R. 4437 "Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005."

The recent failure of the American Civil Liberties Union to enthusiastically actualize their opposition to recently introduced legislation is alarming. The past few months have seen wild debate and nonsensical accusations, but not more than a memo and a few statements about privacy issues from the organization even the Nazis can turn to for protection. By remaining noncommittal on illegal immigration reform, the ACLU is violating the very principles it stands for and is helping to perpetuate individual and systemic racism in the United States.

The debate surrounding the new bill centers on the racial stereotypes of lazy non-white people who come to the United States and use the welfare system while not paying money back into it. However, available analytical economic research does not suggest much, except that researchers do not agree.

A glance through the text of H.R. 4437 is similar to glancing through the diary of a paranoid and selfish elementary school age child who refuses to share her toys. The bill proposes increases in personnel, canine units, border patrol in the Virgin Islands, and Biometric data enhancement to stop all illegal entrants (Sensenbrenner, King 2). The overarching mentality of the bill is clear: keep out!

The ALCU structure is part of the reason why little has been done about the recent immigration reform bill. From my personal experience, I have garnered that decisions on behalf of the entire ACLU system are made exclusively by the offices in New York. Although the ACLU has several branches spread out across the country not a single one has made any concentrated effort to oppose the unconstitutional immigration reform bills.