Margarito J. Garcia, III, Ph.D.

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Richard Parker: As culture wars wane,
some GOP candidates demonize
Mexicans
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Charlie Neibergall/AP
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas
By RICHARD PARKER
Published: 06 July 2015 02:35 PM
Updated: 06 July 2015 08:14 PM

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Heather Wilhelm: Ever-growing government wont let culture wars die

When it comes to bashing Mexicans, Donald Trump has some pretty

interesting company: Texas own Ted Cruz.

But these two probably wont be alone for too long. There is no
immigration crisis, and there is no border crisis; what does exist is a
need to reconcile immigration law with reality. But its a fair guess that
we will see more bigotry against people of Mexican origin in the 2016
Republican presidential contest, even as it alienates Latinos in general,
rapidly becoming Americas largest ethnic group.
Sadly, Americans have an unfortunate, long history of demonizing the
newest immigrants. African-Americans for over two centuries. The Irish
(who were even deemed not to be white) in the 19th century. Italians in
the 20th century for their purported papism and criminality. (Not all
arrived legally, by the way.) Now its the Mexicans turn as they evolve
from small minority to majority in much of the country. Trump
helpfully obliged in keeping the tradition alive.
Actually, he has gotten a charitable reading of what he said.
Trump never used the word illegal or undocumented in condemning
Mexicans for bringing crime, drugs and rape. No, he said:
When Mexico sends its people theyre not sending the best.
In doing so, Trump drew no distinction between legal and illegal
immigrants and came awfully close to tarring people of Mexican
descent, children and grandchildren of immigrants themselves.
Enter Ted Cruz, stage right. On television Sunday, Cruz clammed up,
refusing to criticize his fellow Republican. Yet last week, Cruz
flamboyantly called Trump bold, brash and colorful. While other
Republicans lashed out, in Georgia Cruz gave the wink and the nod
while lavishing more praise: I salute Donald Trump for focusing on the
need to address illegal immigration.
First, Im not impugning the entire Republican Party. Jeb Bush, Rick
Perry and others all angrily criticized Trump. Second, the Republican
Party was not all that long ago the party of practical ideas. Now, though,
the party is held hostage by the remnants of social conservatives and
the tea party. And their favorite social issues, opposition to Obamacare

and gay marriage, were so brittle that they shattered at the Supreme
Court.
So, all thats left is to focus on is those illegal immigrants. That really
means not only undocumented immigrants from Mexico but all
immigrants from Mexico, thanks to Trump. Soon enough, I predict, it
will mean those darned Mexicans in general. Many mainstream
Republicans are not bigoted against people of Mexican origin or
descent. But enough are that its a solid, if cynical, political gambit.
Most Republicans know that this gambit spells political disaster in the
short and long terms, but they seem helpless to stop it, partly because
they have been hoodwinked by this familiar mantra: Were not against
immigration, just illegal immigration. Immigration from Mexico is out
of control. The border is chaos.
And, yet, not one of these things is true. Trump took care of the first.
So, lets look at the other two.
When it comes to immigration, Mexico has been a primary source
of legal immigration not just illegal immigration. About 5 million
Mexican citizens live and work in this country legally, according to the
Wilson Center. As president, George W. Bush actually encouraged
more. Illegal immigration from Mexico soared in the 1990s and early
2000s, as the Mexican economy imploded and the Border Patrol was
under strength. Then, up to 2 million people were picked up yearly, half
in Texas.
Now, that number in Texas is about 250,000 down 75 percent, not
up. Most are not Mexicans but from Central America, according to the
Pew Center. The Mexican immigration crisis already happened some
15 years ago. That means that the border today is not some dystopian
scene of chaos and mayhem. Along most of the border and in such
major cities as El Paso and San Diego, crime is actually down, not up.
Todays undocumented immigrant doesnt sneak across the desert. He
or she lands at the airport, increasingly from Asia and Africa, and just

overstays a perfectly valid visa; Mexicans account for just half of the
nearly 12 million undocumented immigrants in this country.
Yet Trump, Cruz and others arent planning to actually do anything that
smacks of reality. No, because that wouldnt help them demonize, well,
somebody. In losing the last vestiges of the culture wars, they are
running out of people to demonize.
Ah, except those darned Mexicans, right?
Richard Parkers column appears regularly in The News. He is the
author of Lone Star Nation: How Texas Will Transform America.
Reach him at info@richardparkertx.com or follow him on Twitter
at @richardparkertx.