DENVER POST SMACKS DOWN THE TANCREDO-EMANUEL XENOPHOBIC CON GAME AGAINST IMMIGRANTS

Friday the biggest newspaper in Colorado ran dueling OpEds between David Sirota and Rahm Emanuel anti-immigration ally Tom Tancredo (R-CO). Hopefully everyone in the state will start talking about why Tancredo is a con artist for making. along with Emanuel and his stooge Heath Shuler the "dishonest argument over illegal immigration [with which they are] trying to divert our ire away from the corporate profiteers, outsourcers, wage cutters and foreclosers that buy influence-- and protection-- in Washington."

Republicans like Rep. Tom Tancredo (Colo.) are demanding the government cut off public services for undocumented workers, build a barrier at the Mexican border and force employers to verify employees' immigration status. Democrats like Rep. Rahm Emanuel (Ill.) are urging their allies to either embrace a punitive message aimed at illegal immigrants, or avoid the immigration issue altogether. And nobody asks the taboo question: What is illegal immigration actually about?

The answer is exploitation. Employers looking to maximize profits want an economically desperate, politically disenfranchised population that will accept ever worse pay and working conditions. Illegal immigrants perfectly fit the bill.

Politicians know exploitation fuels illegal immigration. But they refuse to confront it because doing so would mean challenging their financiers.

Instead we get lawmakers chest-thumping about immigration enforcement while avoiding a discussion about strengthening wage and workplace safety enforcement-- proposals that address the real problem.

Equally deplorable, these same lawmakers keep supporting trade policies that make things worse. Just last week, both Emanuel and Tancredo voted to expand NAFTA into the Southern Hemisphere. This is the same trade model that not only decimated American jobs and wages, but also increased illegal immigration by driving millions of Mexican farmers off their land, into poverty and ultimately over our southern border in search of subsistence work.

...Instead we get lawmakers chest-thumping about immigration enforcement while avoiding a discussion about strengthening wage and workplace safety enforcement-- proposals that address the real problem.

Equally deplorable, these same lawmakers keep supporting trade policies that make things worse. Just last week, both Emanuel and Tancredo voted to expand NAFTA into the Southern Hemisphere. This is the same trade model that not only decimated American jobs and wages, but also increased illegal immigration by driving millions of Mexican farmers off their land, into poverty and ultimately over our southern border in search of subsistence work.

Is anyone standing up against this crass exploitation? If you're a regular DWT reader you know that we are, as are our pals at Crooks and Liars, Firedoglake, Digby's Hullabaloo and the Seminal, doing just that. We've teamed up with Illinois' largest immigrants rights coalition to help make sure that voters in Chicago understand that even if Rahm Emanuel has a "D" next to his name, he acts like Tom Delay and votes on trade and immigration policy like Tom Tancredo. We're running full page newspaper ads in Spanish, Polish and Korean that urge people in IL-05 to call Emanuel now at (773) 267-5926 and tell him, "Stop being afraid to fight for immigrants, and start acting like a real leader." If you'd like to help us keep this campaign going, our Accountability Moment site is open... 24/7.