The Anti-Immigrant Hysteria in America: Alien Invasion!

[Better Believe It]

CounterPunch
Apri1 9, 2008

The Anti-Immigrant Hysteria in America
Alien Invasion!The Anti-Immigrant Hysteria in America
Alien Invasion!
By WAJAHAT ALI

Wajahat Ali is Pakistani Muslim American who is neither a terrorist nor a saint. He is a playwright, essayist, humorist, and Attorney at Law, whose work, "The Domestic Crusaders," (www.domesticcrusaders.com) is the first major play about Muslim Americans living in a post 9-11 America. His blog is at http://goatmilk.wordpress.com/

If one listens to the hysterical rhetoric of certain pundits and politicians, one would surely believe America is being attacked or infiltrated by nefarious aliens. Like the paranoid ranting of actor Kevin McCarthy in the famous last lines of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, we are lead believe that, "They're here already! You're next!" The clandestine "pod people," the aliens if you will, exist by slowly but surely eradicating the very fabric of American culture. They take over your jobs, replace English with Spanglish, aid Al Qaeda, and make America as American as Apple Flautas.

The "alien threat" generally refers to Mexican immigrant workers, some of them undocumented and illegal, and the "scourge" of their existence on our economic well being, security and livelihood. The "illegal immigration" debate cannot be ignored especially in light of the upcoming Presidential elections. Considering the topic ranks second in terms of importance according to Republican voters, right behind the economy, the immigration debate warrants careful analysis. I sat with two of Senator Obama's recently appointed "immigration advisors" Kevin R. Johnson, Associate Dean of The University of California Davis School of Law and author of the excellent and incisive new book on U.S. immigration laws Opening the Floodgates, and Bill Hing, Professor of Law and Asian American studies.

Please read this interesting and informative interview at:

http://www.counterpunch.org/waj04092008.html

KEVIN R. JOHNSON


BILL HING


More about Wajahat Ali
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
AltMuslim.com

Wajahat Ali is a Muslim American playwright, essayist, and humorist of Pakistani descent whose first play, "The Domestic Crusaders" is the first major production about Muslim Americans and premiered to wide acclaim in 2005 at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre and San Jose University Theatre. Ali has been referred to by art critics as a "major new voice in American literature" whose work mirrors the style of groundbreaking African-American theater productions.

Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, he has been writing, producing and directing plays, films, and sketches since he was a child, enlisting his friends to be actors and crew. He performed stand-up comedy while attending the University of California, Berkeley. In addition to just completing law at the University of California, Davis, he is currently working on his second play, "UnWholly Warriors," a comedic political satire that will premiere in Summer 2008.

Wajahat's work has been featured on BBC World, the San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, KGO Radio, Malaysian Television, and Geo Television. In addition to altmuslim, his writings have appeared in Counterpunch, Islamica Magazine, Konch Magazine, The Daily Times (Pakistan), Naseeb Vibes, and DesiLit magazine.


WAJAHAT ALI

[Better Believe It]

1. Gotta Luv This Picture Of Bush On Immigration