La Raza President: 'Un-American' to Protest Illegal Immigration

La Raza President Janet Murguia said it is “un-American” to protest illegal immigration. Keynoting La Raza’s annual conference on Monday in Los Angeles, Murguia said she was “sickened” by Murrieta protestors from who chanted “no illegals” and “USA! USA!” again and again. 

Murguia said the anti-illegal immigration demonstrators around the country, who are concerned that their communities do not have the resources to take care of thousands of illegal immigrants, “brought out the worst” in Americans. 

“There is nothing more un-American than denying compassion and decency toward a group of young children in need,” Murguia declared. 

She emphasized that she was “troubled” by the “reaction to just 50,000 little kids seeking refuge.” But a Pew Research report, based on government data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, found that nearly 90% of these children are teenagers and not just “little kids.” 

Murguia also said that there is “nothing more un-American than deliberately frightening” illegal immigrant children. She called Republican elected officials like Texas Governor Rick Perry “reprehensible” for sending the National Guard to the border and being concerned about crime and diseases that illegal immigrants are bringing with them across the border.

“What is wrong with these people?” she said, calling Republicans concerned about border security “disgraceful.” 

Texas state Senator Dan Patrick, though, gave elected officials plenty of reasons to be concerned. He said there are 100,000 illegal immigrant gang members in Texas and law enforcement officials have told him that somewhere between one in five and one in 10 illegal immigrants are actually apprehended. 

But Murguia said it was “absurd” to blame the border crisis on “lax enforcement policy” at the border, and she said that the border is secure because illegal immigrant children are “running into the arms of Border Patrol agents” and not away from them.