To the Editor,
The American immigration system is in need of reform and politicians on both sides of the aisle recognize this need. In addition, private citizens have established groups to study the problem and offer possible solutions. The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is one such group. Sounds innocuous; their suggestions might be useful.
John Tanton founded the group in 1979. The first clue regarding the actual goal of FAIR is found in Mr. Tanton’s 1986 statement, “As Whites see their power and control over their lives declining, will they simply go quietly into the night? Or will there be an explosion?”
In 1993 Tanton wrote, “I’ve come to the point of view that for European-American society and culture to persist requires a European-American majority, and a clear one at that.” Sounds like Mr. Tanton was promoting white nationalism, the idea that there is a “white race” and it is genetically and culturally superior to other “races.”
Mr. Tanton also founded the Center for Immigration Studies, a “think tank” that circulates anti-immigrant reports that promote the alleged criminality of immigrants. These reports are used by FAIR in an attempt to create a veneer of legitimacy to their extremist viewpoints. As former Rep. Luis Gutierrez pointed out in 2017, “Their research is always questionable because they torture the data to make it arrive at the conclusion they desire … It is the worst kind of deception, but politicians … eat it up because it always looks somewhat legitimate at first glance.” Sources that “massage” information to conform with their bias to “prove” the validity of their position are especially dangerous and dishonest.
In addition, the very busy Mr. Tanton also formed a pro-eugenics organization, the Society for Genetic Education. Eugenics is a set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of human beings. Eugenics seeks to achieve this goal by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior; Adolf Hitler was an enthusiastic practitioner of this pseudo-science.
Pasqual Pelosi
