It’s not a good month for Mothers Against Illegal Aliens, a virulent anti-immigrant group we first noticed last year when they targeted the undocumented mother of a 7-year-old U.S. citizen for deportation. “Our beautiful Nation has been turned into a jungle by the mass invasion of illegal aliens,” warned the group’s mission statement at the time, although it has been updated to dial-down the hate speech (while keeping the references to “Aztlan”—“We are not only at war with Iraq, but we ARE at WAR with MEXICO”).
Last week, the Anti-Defamation League released a report, titled “Immigrants Targeted: Extremist Rhetoric Moves into the Mainstream,” which describes how anti-immigrant groups “borrow from the playbook of hate groups” in their quest to demonize Hispanics. ADL’s first example is Mothers Against Illegal Aliens.
At the same time, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the large grassroots advocacy group that changed attitudes about drinking and driving in the 1980s, sent a letter demanding that MAIA cease and desist from exploiting the “Mothers Against” reputation. According to MAIA founder Michelle Dallacroce, “You’ve got La Raza infiltrating MADD. MADD’s now into seatbelt safety instead of deporting illegal drunk drivers.”
