LEAGUE OF THE SOUTH NEWS SERVICE

Press Release: Amnesty granted to illegal aliens not a Southern measure

13 March 2002 - For immediate release

The League of the South stands against illegal immigration and the liberal-socialist nightmare of multiculturalism. We believe that most Southerners do also. Unfortunately, that nightmare is a step closer today after last evening's (12 March) 275-137 vote in the U. S. House of Representatives for the Section 245i Extension Bill. This bill grants amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants (mostly Mexicans) now living in the United States. But the recorded vote shows one thing quite clearly. While the South (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia) voted against the Bush-supported measure 76-71, the rest of the nation voted for it by an overwhelming 204-61. Thus, against the will of a majority of Southern representatives (and we suspect an even greater majority of the Southern people themselves), illegal immigrants, and their leftist supporters in Mexico and the U. S. (e.g. La Raza Unida, Atzlan) have been given greater latitude to continue their Reconquista of North America. Moreover, a two-thirds majority in the House has told the American people that they and the corrupt and inefficient Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) are unwilling to police our borders against the continued threat of terrorist attacks.

This is not the first time that the South has voted differently (and we believe rightly) on the immigration issue. In 1965, both the U. S. House and Senate passed the Immigration Reform Act that threw open the doors to massive Third World immigration. In that vote in the House, the South stood 75-34 against the measure, while the nation voted for it by an overall total of 318-95. In the Senate, Southerners voted against the act by a margin of 15-10 while the overall Senate approved it 76-18. We see the same pattern in the vote on the Immigration Reform Act of 1986 (which also provided amnesty to illegals). The overall vote in the House was 238-173 in favor of the act; the South voted 70-49 against it. The 1990 Immigration Act, which increased illegal immigration by some 40%, saw Southern representatives vote it down by a 60-54 margin while the House as a whole approved the law 264-118.

The sectional nature of the vote on Section 245i on 12 March is best illustrated by comparing the vote in the Deep South States (Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina) with that in New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont). The Deep South voted against amnesty for illegal immigrants by a margin of 26-9 while New England voted for the measure 21-1. When the favorable vote in the Far West (62-14), Midwest (59-20), and the mid-Atlantic states of Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania (49-14) is factored in, we see just how wide is the gulf that separates the South from most of the rest of the country (remember the now-famous red and blue map from the 2000 Presidential race?)

The League of the South believes that this vote, in conjunction with similar votes over the years on gun control, abortion, and other pressing issues, provides a stark reminder that an independent South would have drastically different (and better) laws. It is certain that at present the Southern people have laws made for them that do not suit their more conservative worldview. Therefore, we call upon the Southern people to seriously consider the merits of political independence. The alternative may be that we lose both our liberty and our country.

END OF RELEASE