A well known immigration activist has come under fire for suggesting the reason Texas hasn’t passed an Arizona-style immigration crackdown is there are too many Hispanics in the legislature.
Rebecca Forest with the Immigration Reform Coalition of Texas told a crowd that there are very few or no Hispanics in legislatures that have passed strict immigration laws. Here’s the video of the comments in question:
Conservative Republicans like Bob Price at Texas GOP Vote argue this is the kind of thing that plays right into the stereotype that those who want strict enforcement of immigration laws are racists. I spoke with him today. Listen:
Bob Price on 6.15 by Scott Braddock
In a written statement, Forest said “Upon my review of the opposition video excerpts (released out of context) it is understandable why some people have been upset by the featured comments. Unfortunately due to event time constraints, the negative immigration voting history of all legislators could not be discussed in detail.”
Alice Linahan with “Women on the Wall” says Forest was indeed taken out of context. She says that what Forest meant to say was that “liberal Democrats” in the legislature, many of whom are Hispanic, are to blame. I asked her about the fact that it seems pretty clear Forest was talking about Mexican-American lawmakers. Listen:
Alice Linahan defends Rebecca Forest by Scott Braddock
Again, it seems pretty clear that the comments were anti-Hispanic. Take a look at that video and judge for yourself.
UPDATE: Today, I received an email from State Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas , who said “In addition to the comments being offensive, they are just flat wrong. With over 110 non-hispanics and over 101 Rs in the House, Hispanics didn’t stop the sanctuary cities legislation — we tried — but just didn’t have the numbers.”
