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http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/010...mig-ads-ON.html
TV, radio ads further divide sides in immigration debate
Barbara Yost
and Daniel Gonzà ¡lez
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 9, 2004 12:45 PM
A coalition that favors reducing the tide of immigrants has begun airing TV and radio ads in the Valley that pin home-invasion robberies and homicides to undocumented immigrants, prompting a call by some Hispanic leaders to start a counter campaign.
The ads started running in the Phoenix market on Monday and is part of a national media campaign to galvanize public support agai
st any program that would make it easier for immigrants to work in the United States and any form of amnesty for undocumented immigrants already living here, said Roy Beck, a spokesman for the Coalition Uni
ted
for a Secure America.
The ad running in Pho
enix is timed to coincide with Arizona's Feb. 3 Democratic presidential primary in an effort to influence the emerging national debate over immigration.
In the ad, a narrator cites an increase in homicide and home-invasion rates, then states: "Police say it's caused by illegal immigration."
"In my eyes it's real tunnel vision on those people's part," said District Five County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox of the groups behind the ad campaign. "We have a president bringing immigration out of the dark . . . I think they're very racist."
Ben Miranda, state representative from South Phoenix, said of the Phoenix ad, "It offends me . . . I would like to see someone step forward an
d paint the other side."
The coalition is made up of several national groups that favor reducing immigration and population growth: Americans for Better Immigration, the Federation for
Amer
icans for I
mmigration Reform, Americans for Immigration Control and Pop.Stop.
The ads began airing the same week Pre
sident Bush outlined his plans for a major overhaul in the nation's immigration system by creating a temporary worker program that would give undocumented immigrants already here and foreigners the opportunity to apply for temporary work visas.
Although the Bush plan does not include a specific amnesty program, the commercial cites several amnesty programs proposed in the past. In some cities, ads address other issues. In Iowa, where Democratic caucuses will be held Jan. 19, the campaign challenges the entry of more immigrant workers into the United States.
In decrying the anti-immigration tone of the ads, Miranda points out that the hotel, tourist, restaurant and c
onstruction industries depend on immigrant labor. Reducing immigration, he said, would "wreck the economy."
Steve Chucri, president and CEO of the Arizona Restaurant and Ho
spitalit
y Association, agre
es that a decrease in immigrant labor "would have a major impact on the restaurant industry {ellipsis} They fill all kinds o
f jobs."
Edmundo Hidalgo, chief operating officer for Chicanos por la Causa, said his organization is discussing waging a campaign to counter the anti-immigration advertisement, though he praised the quality of the ads.
"They're very well done," he said. "I understand why they're running them. This is an election year. The ads will appeal to a certain segment of the community. People will remember the sound bites."
But he takes issue with the "content and truthfulness" of the message and said Chicanos por la Causa is planning a strategy to tell the other side of the immigration issue.
"S
omebody's legal status is not an issue," Hidalgo said. Whether someone enters the country illegally is "irrelevant," he said, if that person is working, paying tax
es and contr
ibuting to society.
Although Chicanos por la Causa has not yet contacted an advertising agency and no specific plan has been launched to oppose the ads, Hildalgo said, "We are concerned with any potential swing this type o
f advertisement could create . . . We're . . . developing a strategy."
Rusty Childress, treasurer of Protect Arizona Now, a citizens organization that favors reducing Arizona's appeal to illegal immigrants, said the ads speak to his sentiments.
"I like the message," he said, insisting America's borders are no more secure today than they were following the attacks on Sept. 11. While conceding that Mexican nationals have not been tied to terrorism, he said that about 60 countries have been represented in border apprehensions.
"What
they (United to Secure America) are asking for is border security before we can stem the tide of illegal immigration."
Kathy McKee, state director of Protect Ar
izona Now, said
she knew the ads were about to be a
ired and supports the campaign.
"I'm glad somebody with money has put that into advertising," she said. "I was very pleased{ellipsis}The American public has been asleep while the government was condoning and supporting illegal acts" such as
allowing non-citizens to vote and allowing welfare fraud.
McKee and Childress deny the ads are racist. Said Childress, "It's not about race, it's about crime."
Detective Tony Morales, public information officer for the Phoenix Police Department, confirmed that crime statistics cited in the Phoenix ad are probably accurate: homicides up 45 percent and home invasions up 41 percent.
"Those numbers are close to what we've seen in Phoenix," he said.
Morales a
lso confirmed that Phoenix police believe those figures are tied to illegal immigration. Curbing illegal immigration would probably lower crime rates, he said: "T
here's no doubt
it would reduce that, yes."
I
n 2003, he said, smuggling of undocumented workers into Arizona appeared for the first time among the top five motives for murder in Phoenix.
Bush's immigration plan announced this week is based on a guest worker proposal put forth by three Arizona Republican Congressmen: Reps. Jeff Flake and Jim Kolbe and Sen. Jo
hn McCain. Several Democratic presidential candidates have also called for major immigration reform that would legalize millions of undocumented immigrants and make it easier for immigrants to work in the United States.
"The main objective of the ads is to raise attention that national leaders of both parties are pushing amnesty and foreign worker programs that the majority of Americans are opposed to and to defeat amnesty and guest worker legisla
tion," Beck said.
Flake said the ads are not addressing his bill since it does not propose an amnesty plan.
The ad was produced by Davis a
nd Company in Washingto
n, D.C., and similar ads will soon appear in at lea
st 10 other cities across the country, said Brantley Davis, executive vice president.
"You're going to be seeing these spots a lot," Davis said. "This is not $5,000 and that's it."
Devin Burghart, director for the Building Democracy Initiative at the Center for New Community in Chicago, decried the ad campaign, saying
it scapegoats immigrants and relies on scare tactics and fear to stir up anti-immigrant sentiment.
"We have to have a realistic discussion about immigration, about why people are coming to this country, but we want to make sure that bigotry is not at the table," Burghart said.
His organization recently fought a similar ad campaign by the same group in Iowa that blamed job losses in that st
ate on immigrants. The ads were denounced by labor leaders.
Burghart said the group was also responsible for an earlier ad campaign that blamed
the Sept. 11, 2001 terrori
st attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. on the nation&#
39;s immigration policy.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/010...mig-ads-ON.html
TV, radio ads further divide sides in immigration debate
Barbara Yost
and Daniel Gonzà ¡lez
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 9, 2004 12:45 PM
A coalition that favors reducing the tide of immigrants has begun airing TV and radio ads in the Valley that pin home-invasion robberies and homicides to undocumented immigrants, prompting a call by some Hispanic leaders to start a counter campaign.
The ads started running in the Phoenix market on Monday and is part of a national media campaign to galvanize public support agai
st any program that would make it easier for immigrants to work in the United States and any form of amnesty for undocumented immigrants already living here, said Roy Beck, a spokesman for the Coalition Uni
ted
for a Secure America.
The ad running in Pho
enix is timed to coincide with Arizona's Feb. 3 Democratic presidential primary in an effort to influence the emerging national debate over immigration.
In the ad, a narrator cites an increase in homicide and home-invasion rates, then states: "Police say it's caused by illegal immigration."
"In my eyes it's real tunnel vision on those people's part," said District Five County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox of the groups behind the ad campaign. "We have a president bringing immigration out of the dark . . . I think they're very racist."
Ben Miranda, state representative from South Phoenix, said of the Phoenix ad, "It offends me . . . I would like to see someone step forward an
d paint the other side."
The coalition is made up of several national groups that favor reducing immigration and population growth: Americans for Better Immigration, the Federation for
Amer
icans for I
mmigration Reform, Americans for Immigration Control and Pop.Stop.
The ads began airing the same week Pre
sident Bush outlined his plans for a major overhaul in the nation's immigration system by creating a temporary worker program that would give undocumented immigrants already here and foreigners the opportunity to apply for temporary work visas.
Although the Bush plan does not include a specific amnesty program, the commercial cites several amnesty programs proposed in the past. In some cities, ads address other issues. In Iowa, where Democratic caucuses will be held Jan. 19, the campaign challenges the entry of more immigrant workers into the United States.
In decrying the anti-immigration tone of the ads, Miranda points out that the hotel, tourist, restaurant and c
onstruction industries depend on immigrant labor. Reducing immigration, he said, would "wreck the economy."
Steve Chucri, president and CEO of the Arizona Restaurant and Ho
spitalit
y Association, agre
es that a decrease in immigrant labor "would have a major impact on the restaurant industry {ellipsis} They fill all kinds o
f jobs."
Edmundo Hidalgo, chief operating officer for Chicanos por la Causa, said his organization is discussing waging a campaign to counter the anti-immigration advertisement, though he praised the quality of the ads.
"They're very well done," he said. "I understand why they're running them. This is an election year. The ads will appeal to a certain segment of the community. People will remember the sound bites."
But he takes issue with the "content and truthfulness" of the message and said Chicanos por la Causa is planning a strategy to tell the other side of the immigration issue.
"S
omebody's legal status is not an issue," Hidalgo said. Whether someone enters the country illegally is "irrelevant," he said, if that person is working, paying tax
es and contr
ibuting to society.
Although Chicanos por la Causa has not yet contacted an advertising agency and no specific plan has been launched to oppose the ads, Hildalgo said, "We are concerned with any potential swing this type o
f advertisement could create . . . We're . . . developing a strategy."
Rusty Childress, treasurer of Protect Arizona Now, a citizens organization that favors reducing Arizona's appeal to illegal immigrants, said the ads speak to his sentiments.
"I like the message," he said, insisting America's borders are no more secure today than they were following the attacks on Sept. 11. While conceding that Mexican nationals have not been tied to terrorism, he said that about 60 countries have been represented in border apprehensions.
"What
they (United to Secure America) are asking for is border security before we can stem the tide of illegal immigration."
Kathy McKee, state director of Protect Ar
izona Now, said
she knew the ads were about to be a
ired and supports the campaign.
"I'm glad somebody with money has put that into advertising," she said. "I was very pleased{ellipsis}The American public has been asleep while the government was condoning and supporting illegal acts" such as
allowing non-citizens to vote and allowing welfare fraud.
McKee and Childress deny the ads are racist. Said Childress, "It's not about race, it's about crime."
Detective Tony Morales, public information officer for the Phoenix Police Department, confirmed that crime statistics cited in the Phoenix ad are probably accurate: homicides up 45 percent and home invasions up 41 percent.
"Those numbers are close to what we've seen in Phoenix," he said.
Morales a
lso confirmed that Phoenix police believe those figures are tied to illegal immigration. Curbing illegal immigration would probably lower crime rates, he said: "T
here's no doubt
it would reduce that, yes."
I
n 2003, he said, smuggling of undocumented workers into Arizona appeared for the first time among the top five motives for murder in Phoenix.
Bush's immigration plan announced this week is based on a guest worker proposal put forth by three Arizona Republican Congressmen: Reps. Jeff Flake and Jim Kolbe and Sen. Jo
hn McCain. Several Democratic presidential candidates have also called for major immigration reform that would legalize millions of undocumented immigrants and make it easier for immigrants to work in the United States.
"The main objective of the ads is to raise attention that national leaders of both parties are pushing amnesty and foreign worker programs that the majority of Americans are opposed to and to defeat amnesty and guest worker legisla
tion," Beck said.
Flake said the ads are not addressing his bill since it does not propose an amnesty plan.
The ad was produced by Davis a
nd Company in Washingto
n, D.C., and similar ads will soon appear in at lea
st 10 other cities across the country, said Brantley Davis, executive vice president.
"You're going to be seeing these spots a lot," Davis said. "This is not $5,000 and that's it."
Devin Burghart, director for the Building Democracy Initiative at the Center for New Community in Chicago, decried the ad campaign, saying
it scapegoats immigrants and relies on scare tactics and fear to stir up anti-immigrant sentiment.
"We have to have a realistic discussion about immigration, about why people are coming to this country, but we want to make sure that bigotry is not at the table," Burghart said.
His organization recently fought a similar ad campaign by the same group in Iowa that blamed job losses in that st
ate on immigrants. The ads were denounced by labor leaders.
Burghart said the group was also responsible for an earlier ad campaign that blamed
the Sept. 11, 2001 terrori
st attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. on the nation&#
39;s immigration policy.