Two years ago, Michelle Malkin wrote a couple of books, which one of them was titled
In Defense of Internment: The Case for "Racial Profiling" in World War II and the War on Terror. The book is just more of the same propaganda, but trying to sound scholarly than the one word titles that the other lunatic shrill queen uses, such as Slander or Treason. All Malkin does in her book is defended internment camps and racial profiling.

On Tuesday, Malkin got her wish. Fatherland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff plans to open up some Gitmo-lite camps...oops I mean "detention facilities" to hold thousands of Chinese immigrants who have been denied immigration to the United States. And in October Chertoff plans to end its "catch and release" immigration policy which would mean that all illegal immigrants will be held in U.S. detention centers. So to sum it up, Hispanic are kicked out, Muslims are held secretly, and Chinese will be held in camps and later on, after October everybody else the US doesn't like can spend the night at Camp Internment.

The problem with right wing lunatics is that they find it hard to face up to the fact that it's not America we hate, it's the bigots and fascist who wrap themselves in their hateful, bigoted, ignorant ideology in red, white and blue.

People like them are very dangerous and should be taken very seriously. They are not only intolerant and self-righteous, but disdain any criticism and are willingly resort to violence in response to any threat to their dominance.

Some facts from a study regarding migrant workers from the same state Rep. Sensenbrenner is from, Economic Impact of Migrant Workers on Wisconsin’s Economy.

Over 90 percent of Wisconsin migrants are of Spanish speaking origin. They are primarily from the Rio Grande Valley in south Texas, although some come directly from Mexico and other countries.

Hand labor is still needed in the cucumber industry, in apple orchards, and in picking peppers, cabbage, and other vegetable crops that have not been mechanized. Also, because many crops are processed and canned in the state, large numbers of workers are needed in food processing plants during the peak of harvest. Today, as in many past years, Wisconsin ranks first among the states in the production of snap beans for processing (USDA, 2001).

Farm wives used to help during harvest; now many are likely to have year-round, off- farm jobs. High school students who used to help during the vacation summer months now may get employment in comfortable airconditioned malls, stores, and restaurants. Thus, employers turn to out-of-state, seasonally available workers.

Farmers and food producers were asked "Please indicate what you would do if migrant labor were not available." There is no worry among food processors but farmers are a different story. Growers differ significantly from food processors:

1. would be more likely to close their business (49% v. 8%);
2. to go into other lines of work (28% vs. 0%);
3. sell their land or equipment (28% vs. 0%); and
4. they would retire (12% vs. 0%)

Conclusion:

Local economies depend on migrant workers in numerous ways. As a reliable and hardworking workforce, employers count on them to help plant, harvest and pack perishable produce, work double shifts in canneries, and accept wages that are above minimum but below a "living wage."

While in Wisconsin, migrants spend about half of their pay checks for various living expenses, such as food and clothes. This money is usually spent in local stores, thus re-entering the local economy. Migrants also make special purchases while in Wisconsin, which average $750 for a worker traveling alone, and over $1,100 for a family, and may include a used car, stereo and VCR, various home appliances and computers.

In sum, the migrant workforce continues to play a significant role in Wisconsin agriculture, its food industries, and its economy as a whole. Moreover, due to migrants’ spending in the state and the tax revenues that migrants make possible, there are significant positive economic impacts of migrant workers and their families in the State of Wisconsin.

The sad thing is, farmers are starting to feel the effects. The Bluefield Daily Telegraph ran this story: Farmers Face Immigrant Workers Shortage

Randy Scarbor was counting on the 15 immigrant workers who lived on his farm to harvest his 60-acre sweet-potato crop last fall, but they vanished just as the work got under way. He instead was forced to bring in some less-motivated substitutes for the backbreaking job.

"I wound up hiring some locals that weren't worth hauling to the field," he said. "It was the worst harvest labor in my life and I've been in the farming business 35 years. But we got it in."
...
some farm groups also believe increased enforcement along Mexican border also may have curbed the number of illegal immigrants with false documents that get "entry-level" jobs like picking fruits and vegetables. There are also indications anti-immigrant civilian groups such as the Minutemen have discouraged farm workers who could enter the country legally.

And it even gets better....

a Farm Bureau study predicts one-third of the nation's fruit-and-vegetable producers would no longer be able to compete with foreign growers, U.S. agriculture would lose $9 billion a year and U.S. consumers eventually would be left with only foreign-grown produce in their supermarkets.

Of the nation's 3 million agricultural workers, about 2 million are members of farm families and 1 million are hired, including an estimated 500,000 who aren't authorized to work in this country, according to the Farm Bureau.

Funny how the xenophobic lunatics over at the Center for Immigration Studies think things can be solved only if farmers are willing to pay competitive wages.

California's Imperial Valley Vegetable Growers Association, says different and they are feeling the effects NOW!

Labor shortage is very real for farmers in the valley, a desert region north of the Mexican border with 450,000 acres of irrigated farmland. The Imperial Valley supplies 90 percent of the nation's winter vegetables, such as lettuce, spinach and broccoli....The increased border security, plus rumors about border vigilantes, was so intimidating that even workers who could cross legally decided to stay home.

Michelle Malkin must be especially pleased and proud of herself, but at what cost? Other groups are in danger too, not just Hispanics. How far has America come since World War II? Not far at all. This lack of progress suggests a troubling conclusion: Racist sentiment still continue towards Asians and Asian Americans even after the internment camps. On October 17, 2002, a federal district court in New Jersey issued an opinion that used language remarkably similar to that used in Korematsu. In Dasrath v. Continental Airlines, the court wrote:

[T]he objective assessment of a carrier's decision must take into account all the circumstances surrounding the decision, including...not least, the general security climate in which events unfold....In the present case, it should not be forgotten that the decisions at issue were made in an atmosphere pervaded by the fears and uncertainty's [sic] arising from the events of September 11, 2001.

In the Korematsu Case:

To cast this case into outlines of racial prejudice, without reference to the real military dangers which were presented, merely confuses the issue. Korematsu was not excluded from the Military Area because of hostility to him or his race. He was excluded because we are at war with the Japanese Empire [and] because the properly constituted military authorities feared an invasion of our West Coast and felt constrained to take proper security measures.

Both cases excused xenophobia.

In a recent email exchange I had with a friend, Rev Mykeru, on this issue, he provided me a link to James Spader's speech from Boston Legal. But its what Mykeru said that is so true- When will American have enough is not the question. It's how loud dumb-assed gimp pseudo-patriots can say "Thank you Sir, may I have another?