Rediff On The NeT: Signs of alarm


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July 5, 1999

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Anti-Immigrant Website Sets Alarms Ringing

A P Kamath

Tired of Sitting in Traffic?Every Day, Another
6,000 Immigrants Arrive. Every Day!! 'Tired of Sitting in Traffic?' asks a billboard placed prominently in Sunnyside in Queens, one of the heaviest immigrant pockets in America. Below the question is the statement: 'Every Day, Another 6,000 Immigrants Arrive. Every Day!!'

And then there is the address: www.ProjectUSA.com.

Craig Nelson, who says he decided to start the billboard campaign after getting alarmed at Chinese and Indian overpopulation two years ago, used his own money -- about $ 300 -- to put up one billboard in Long Island. Immigrants from overpopulated countries would make America the slum of the world, he feels.

It caught the attention of "thousands" he says, so he decided to put several billboards in Queens and Brooklyn -- and then across America.

Since the first billboard went up in May, Nelson says he believes he has received hundreds of messages, pledging support to his organization. Hundreds of people are prepared to put up signboards at their own cost, he says.

A self-employed businessman, Nelson, who is in his mid-30s, says he is not anti-immigrant but he certainly is anti-immigration policies.

While there are many groups and organizations across America working to curtail immigration and resources available for immigrants, www.ProjectUSA.org, is getting a "significant" number of visitors, Nelson says, because many people want to read excerpts from articles about problems caused by immigrants.

His critics say his alarming messages and postings ignore studies that have argued that America stands to gain by its immigrant policy, and that immigrants work harder than many Americans, have a higher saving rate, and invest frugally.

"And we pay our taxes, take part in political activities, and we vote," says Tito Sinha, a lawyer involved in many community organizations. Activists also point out that what America spends on indigent immigrants is a fraction of the money spent on high-tech defense projects. "The Cold War is over, America is going to have over a trillion dollar surplus soon, and why are the immigrants blamed for what goes wrong in this country," asks documentary film-maker Suprotim Bose.

Craig Nelsen,founder of ProjectUSA But Nelson is convinced that the benefits of immigration are far small compared to the negative costs. America should not be allowed to become a third world country, he blandly declares.

The idea of the billboards and his website is not to cause anti-immigrant hysteria, he says, but to add to the on-going debate about immigration.

A few examples of recent postings:

Calif. Investigating Silicon Workers -- "The government will investigate a newspaper's report that Silicon Valley high-tech companies pay Asian immigrants low wages to assemble electronic parts at home, possibly violating a number of labor, tax and safety laws." (AP)

176 Chinese Held in Mexico With 6 Alleged Smugglers -- "Authorities in Ensenada held six suspected smugglers and 176 Chinese migrants who were discovered since Saturday along a coastal region sometimes used to ferry illegal immigrants from Asia to the United States." (AP)

Bush Unveils High-Tech Agenda -- "George W Bush unveiled his high-tech agenda for Silicon Valley donors today, proposing lower taxes on the industry and relaxed immigration regulations to allow additional highly skilled workers into the country." (AP)

Honduran Boy's Tale Called a Lie -- "A 13-year-old Honduran boy's fantastic tale of journeying 37 days from his mudslide-devastated homeland to New York to be with his father captured the headlines as well as the hearts of New Yorkers. But the story was made up, and now Edwin Sabillon has some explaining to do." (AP)

State's immigrants leading in welfare use, survey says -- "New citizens in California are nearly three times more likely to receive welfare than native-born residents, a dramatic difference that is not seen in other states with burgeoning immigrant populations, according to a new report by the US General Accounting Office." (San Jose Mercury News)

C Report Finds Mixed-Status Citizenship in Many Families -- "The high rate of Los Angeles County children living in so-called mixed-status families -- those with at least one parent who is not a US citizen -- is nearly five times the national average, according to the study by the Urban Institute, a research group based in Washington, DC" (LAT)

Outside the eyes of the law, Silicon Valley companies pay Asian immigrants by the piece to assemble parts at home -- "In sharp contrast to Silicon Valley's gleaming labs and sleek cubicles lies a hidden, low-tech underbelly: a loose network of Asian immigrants who are paid by the piece to assemble electronic parts in their homes for some of high tech's major companies, in apparent violation of labor, tax and safety laws." (San Jose Mercury News)

High tech, low wages: Mercury News Editorial -- "The sites for assembling computer parts -- kitchen tables and living rooms of recent Asian immigrants -- are unsupervised. The pressure for production is high. The rate of piecework pay is low; if not clearly illegal, the pay practices are certainly shameful in a high-tech economy that is generating huge wealth and profits." (San Jose Mercury News)

Some of his critics wonder where he gets his facts from.

"6,000 immigrants each day?" asks immigration lawyer Wendy Blake. "Surely, there are hundreds slipping in from across Mexico. The other 5,000 must be invisible aliens."

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