Many in the Republican Party don’t understand the political ramifications of amnesty. If they did, they wouldn’t support it.
GOP reform advocates don’t understand that Democrats are pushing immigration reform because they want the country to turn permanently Democrat and to lurch leftward and unhook from America’s founding principles of individual liberty and limited government.
Republicans who support amnesty don’t understand the inertia of culture. They think the new citizens who will benefit from their amnesty can be reasoned with and persuaded by the force of argument to vote for Republicans.
Seriously.
The problem is these former illegal aliens and their children won’t even see the GOP narrative. Culture is a more powerful force than reason, and certainly more powerful than the Republican Party’s ability to generate and penetrate with a narrative. Race groups like LULAC have built a cultural edifice around these populations that no RNC Growth and Opportunity Project tweet will penetrate.
Establishment Republicans clamoring for amnesty can’t point to a single victory of the moderate GOP narrative against the cultural-media-money edifice of the left. Go ahead, name one.
The closest thing to a “victory” from the moderate pro-amnesty wing of the GOP usually consists of being subsumed by the agenda of the left.
That isn’t a victory. That’s eradication.
Instead of a Republican or conservative narrative, the former illegal aliens, now American citizens, will see the narrative created by folks like the four individuals who landed in my email box today.
A left-wing group sent me an email announcing a crop of “FirstGEN Fellows” to work on immigration issues. These are the people who want the GOP-driven immigration amnesty. Let’s meet them. First, Genesis Garfio. From the press release:
Genesis Garfio is a DREAMer who attends Columbia University. She is studying political science and economics in the prelaw track. Garfio is a member of Chicano Caucus, an organization dedicated to provide members of the Columbia University student body who self-identify as Chicano, Mexican, or Mexican-American, with an environment that will help them to fulfill their educational goals and to promote cultural consciousness. She is also a member of the Columbia Democrats. Garfio is heavily involved with the LGBTQ community on campus and serves as an SAT/college prep tutor for students in Harlem. She considers Houston, Texas her home, but is originally from Chihuahua, Mexico. She will be placed with the Washington, D.C., office of the National Immigration Law Center.
Genesis the Dreamer is the just sort of activist in training who will be sure to remind those who “self-identify as Chicano” that conservative ideas are the enemy of “Chicanos” everywhere.
Meet FirstGen Fellow Nirvana Felix:
Nirvana Felix attends the University of California, Berkeley, as a social welfare major with intended minors in public policy and education. She is currently part of an organization on campus called Inside the Living Room, which assists immigrants and refugees in completing political/LGBTQ/domestic violence asylum. Felix is passionate about empowering and educating people of color, especially Pilipinos, in their endeavors to maneuver their way towards higher education and beyond. She currently interns for the bridges Multicultural Resource Center and has assisted in the planning and implementation of the Graduate School Tour, a weeklong trip during which undergraduate students are given the opportunity to tour various East Coast graduate schools. Felix hopes to one day work for a nonprofit organization focused on education reform. She was born and raised in San Jose, California, and will be placed with the Lawyers’ Committee.
Meet more dreamers who want the GOP-driven immigration amnesty on the next page.
Meet FirstGen Fellow Juan Rangel, who fought to make sure illegal aliens could attend Notre Dame:
Juan Rangel studies at the University of Notre Dame and is majoring in political science and Latino studies. He has been involved with student government throughout all three years at Notre Dame, and this year he served as the student body chief of staff, which included chairing the Immigration Task Force. Rangel also founded and serves as the president of the Student Coalition for Immigration Advocacy, which works to educate students about immigration issues and advocate at the local, state, and national levels. He interned last summer with the Office for Immigrant Affairs and Immigration Education at the Archdiocese of Chicago. He is originally from Mexico but calls Central California home. Rangel will be placed with the Washington, D.C., office of the National Immigration Law Center.
Finally, meet FirstGen Fellow Karla Davis.
Karla Davis attends MidAmerica Nazarene University in the Kansas City metro area. While studying corporate communications, marketing, and graphic design, she discovered a passion for social justice issues. As a nontraditional and minority student, Davis recognizes the need to advocate for marginalized groups and hopes to dedicate both her personal and professional life to such causes. Davis is actively involved in her community and has served in a variety of capacities — as a youth member of the National League of Cities, an intern at the Olathe Latino Coalition, as well as the president of her university’s Student Diversity Council, whose purpose is to empower students to stand up against the injustices of today. Davis will be placed with the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. thanks to the generous donation in memory of Claire Robinson.
Stand up to the injustices of today? That’s novel. Most diversity councils I know hector college administrators to treat people different on the basis of skin color. Perhaps Davis’ council is different.
Regardless, these four FirstGEN Fellows should give Republican immigration advocates some exposure to the cultural headwinds they will face post-amnesty. As I wrote at PJ Media, “Conservatives must first confront and destroy the credibility of the racial interest groups that serve as the gatekeepers to these communities.” So far, I haven’t seen any effort to destroy the credibility of these cultural gatekeepers. I’ve only see one side extend a hand to them.
Update: Nirvana Felix writes PJ Media to say she is not an illegal alien, something the article did not say she was. She is however, a dreamer, in the conventional long used definition of the word that wants amnesty. “DREAMer” is a term cooked up by advocates of amnesty for some illegal aliens. It is not an term accepted by opponents of illegal alien amnesty.
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