Just what America needs. The Hill on Sunday, October 29th., published this headline, “Tensions rise between new and established migrants“.
Tensions are reaching a fever pitch between newly arrived migrants and longtime immigrant and minority communities over perceptions of unfair distribution of government benefits.
The frustration, which is centered in big cities, is twofold: Many undocumented and mixed-status families feel overlooked as new arrivals become eligible for work permits, and in many communities of color, spending on shelter for asylum-seekers is viewed in contrast to scarcity in other social programs.
“The narrative out there has been somewhat distorted to present the picture where it looks like new immigrants are living in plush conditions. That’s not the case. They’re undergoing very difficult conditions,” said New York Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D).
The tension is especially felt in Democratic strongholds such as New York and Chicago, where community leaders and elected officials have spent decades organizing their constituents with limited success.
“Established here or not, none deserve a damn penny!”, said Thomas Robb, the National Director of the Knights Party of the Ku Klux Klan, centrally based in Harrison, Arkansas. “Illegals are illegals. There isn’t a difference. I don’t care if they have lived here illegally for years, or if they have just arrived. In my opinion, and the opinion of many, is the fact that these are not legal citizens of the United States, therefore, they deserve not a single thing that American citizens have rights to. This shows the mentality of these people, to bicker over who is the most illegal. What’s next, turf wars as to who gets what at the expense of White American taxpayers?