The whole world is familiar with the wave of anti-immigrant sentiment that has taken Arizona by storm. Last week, many residents of Cochise County were alarmed to receive hand-addressed letters in their mailboxes that purported to be from the Cochise County Sheriff’s office. The letters stated that SB1070, Arizona’s recent anti-immigration law, would be going into effect on July 29th, that the residents had been duly warned, and that they should leave the state or face the consequences. The Cochise County Sheriff’s Department has denied that the letters came from its office, and the State of Arizona is looking in to possible criminal charges for the person or group who sent the letters.
Unfortunately, this type of racist hysteria is not limited to Arizona. NPR reported on Wednesday that an anonymous group of individuals, who have opted to call themselves Concerned Citizens of the United States, has compiled a list of over 1300 people who allegedly are living in the state of Utah illegally. The list includes the people’s names, addresses, social security numbers, birthdays, and due dates in the case of pregnant women. Concerned Citizens of the United States sent the list to Utah’s media outlets and government agencies, demanding that the alleged illegal residents be deported. When is the insanity going to stop?
Here are my questions for these so-called Concerned Citizens of the United States: who the heck are you? And what gives you the right to dig up personal information on people? First of all, if someone has a social security number, they are living in the United States legally. Second of all, how did you get the women’s due dates? That’s not public information – it’s confidential information between a woman and her doctor. What is the motivation for disclosing someone’s due date? What, are vigilantes going to camp outside of Utah’s hospitals, protesting the fact that immigrant women are giving birth inside?
This may sound far-fetched, but anyone who has worked as a clinic escort knows that the type of wingnuts who would compile a list of pregnant “immigrant” women are the same type of wingnuts who would stand outside of an abortion clinic shouting epithets at the patients who go inside.
More to the point, however, is that all of the white folks who live in the state of Utah, and everywhere else in America for that matter, need to check themselves at the door. When Brigham Young and his band of weary pioneers rolled into the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, they stole the land from the Indigenous People who were living there, using religious dogma to justify colonialism. I’m not throwing stones at the Mormon Church. All I’m saying is that white people are illegal immigrants. Period.
The state of Utah needs to be careful about the bedfellows it chooses. If Utah’s state legislature decides to adopt legislation similar to Arizona’s SB1070, it would definitely send the signal that immigrants aren’t welcome there. But is that the message that Utah, home of the Mormon Church, wants to send? Visitors to Salt Lake City and Provo might recognize that both Mormon strongholds pride themselves on being multicultural centers, primarily because of the Mormon Church’s missionary program at Temple Square and the large number of international students who attend BYU. To be clear, I am not throwing shade on the Mormon Church – I am simply trying to make the point that Utah, as whitewashed as it may be, likes to portray an image of the racial melting pot, and that jumping into bed with the SB1070 fascists might not be the best marketing strategy for the state.
This group Concerned Citizens of the United States has a list of the due dates in the case of pregnant women? This is absolutely horrific! Yes, when is the insanity going to stop? I bet these people are “pro-life,” meaning anti-woman, anti-woman of color and anti-Native/Indigenous woman. These people are extremists and full of hate and fear. I can’t stand this. It breaks my heart.
Cecelia, you nailed this issue right on the head. It’s totally hateful. It’s like people learned nothing from the Holocaust. I hope the Utah legislature has the good sense to avoid repeating Arizona’s mistakes.
“What is the motivation for disclosing someone’s due date?”
My guess would be that they are trying to get these women deported before they give birth, thus preventing their children from becoming US citizens.
Wow, so kukluxklan like. This is really aweful. So much hate so much violence. Its very much like holocaust tactics (lists of jews, etc), Freewoman.
Its shocking how much one group of people always seeks to oppress and terrify another. As an abortion provider who has received threats in the past, and hearing stories from my jewish grandparents about life in Europe I can relate. I just wished that in 2010 people would tolerate each other better. It breaks my heart too.
Hi Katherine – thanks for making the connection back to reproductive rights. These are exactly the same type of wingnuts who camp outside of abortion providers’ houses, or stalk them at church. I’m sorry that you’ve had to go through that, just to make sure that women have access to medical care.
Thanks for posting this Serena. To add fuel to the “holy cow how can you be that racist” fire I have to share this recent piece to come out of the Tea Party.
http://politicalcorrection.org/blog/201007150012
Yikes!
Utah Welfare list? I thought the majority in AZ, NM, TX, NV, UT, CO, OK, on Welfare, are old school Mormons who still practice polygamy with underage girls and send these girls in to get a check. You should see some of the palace homes that are paid with welfare checks.
Montana, polygamy is not the point of this post. But a distinction needs to be made between the FLDS, which is the splinter group that practices polygamy, and the mainstream Mormon/LDS church, which does not.
freewomyn: Are you telling me that there are no “Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints” (FLDS Church) on Welfare in AZ, NM, TX, NV, UT, CO, OK, who send there underage wives to claim they are single moms and get there Welfare check (talk about women rights that are being viotated)? Not to mention the palaces they livein without access to the outside world (no newsppers, radio, TV or internet), they can’t leave, or own any property, all property is owned by the church. I am sorry that I brought this up, why should anyone care about underage girls who only believe what they are told and are taken advantage by dirty old men, but I guess thats what this type of religion is all about.
Montana, please don’t hijack a thread about immigration with your rants about Mormonism and the FLDS churches. We have had many posts on Feminists For Choice about polygamy that are a more appropriate venue for your discussion.