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By Aisha Gawad November 9, 2009 Did you know that illegal immigrants are the cause of an outburst of leprosy in the United States, that they murder and rape innocent American citizens, and that they are all Mexican spies preparing for the re-conquest of the Southwest? Well, I learned all of this from CNN’s venerable Lou Dobbs. I can imagine them now: an army of Mexican lepers crossing the border wielding pitchforks. While Americans are lined up, begging for jobs as underpaid and abused dishwashers, maids and construction workers, the Mexican lepers will be stroking their black mustaches and laughing manically: “You are too late, America! We’re taking over!” You may think I am being facetious, but this is literally what Dobbs says every weeknight on his live CNN program, “Lou Dobbs Tonight.” If you’ve never seen the show, you only have to watch one episode to see how full of vitriol Dobbs is towards immigrants and people of color. CNN obviously has no problem catering to racist Americans who believe the lies Dobbs spreads, which is why its recent special, a four-hour documentary called “Latinos in America” is so laughably contradictory. The special was a celebration of Latino culture and contribution to American society...so which is it, CNN? Are immigrants dirty and dangerous, or are they an integral part of the social fabric of America? The documentary provoked protests from immigrants-rights and anti-racism groups across the country, arguing that CNN can’t cater to the rapidly-growing Latino population while continuing to air the racist propaganda of Dobbs. BastaDobbs.com ("basta" means “enough” in Spanish), a website formed by a network of organizations advocating for the removal of Dobbs from CNN, compiled some of his most extreme lies: “Illegal aliens are in the country including murderers and rapists.” “The invasion of illegal aliens is threatening the health of many Americans.” (he then goes on to list diseases such as leprosy, tuberculosis, and malaria.) “A third of the prison population in this country is estimated to be illegal aliens.” This last lie at least got him into a bit of trouble, for it seems that actually only six percent of the American prison population are non-citizens, which includes both illegal and legal aliens. Oops. Latino groups are right to be angry and offended by CNN’s patronizing attempts at wooing them. But the rest of immigrant America should be offended, too. After all, how often are Muslim-Americans the target of smear campaigns in the American press? According to people like Dobbs, Mexicans bring disease and crime and Muslims bring bombs and extremism. Immigrants of all faiths and ethnicities should join together in solidarity against the racism that is broadcast on mainstream news. Latino converts to Islam are increasing - the American Muslim Council estimates an 88 percent increase since 1997. The struggles of the Latino and Muslim-American are interconnected, and in order to win that struggle, our communities need to work together. As Lou Dobbs said on his website recently: “If anybody thinks that we’re not engaged in a battle for the soul of this country right now, you’re sorely mistaken.” For once, he’s right. Sources: Minn Post NY Times http://www.elanthemag.com/index.php/site/blog_detail/can_lou_dobbs_be_deported-nid826296762/