The Immigration Issue as a White Supremacist Recruiting Tool

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The recent immigration debate drew attention from all quarters of U.S. society -- including white supremacists, whose chat rooms are abuzz with anti-immigration sentiment directed especially against illegal Mexican and other Latin American immigrants. White supremacist groups such as the National Vanguard and the National Socialist Movement hope to use the immigration issue as a public relations and recruiting tool.

Using a method similar to the "loss leader" sales technique, these groups hope to gain new sympathizers' attention and then "educate" them about what the groups consider the real threat: Jews. According to their chat room and blog discussions, white supremacist groups ultimately blame Jewish interests in the U.S. government for an immigration policy they consider harmful to the white race. The immigration policy is only part of what the white supremacists consider an overall scheme by Jewish interests to dominate the United States and use other races, such as blacks and Hispanics, to undermine the "Aryan" white race.

Though the white supremacists' message does not seem to be much different from what it was before the immigration issue's resurgence, their target audience has changed. The recent debate has given them an opportunity to spread their message to a more mainstream audience by appealing to the fears and animosities of individuals who feel threatened by illegal immigrants -- those who compete with illegal immigrants economically and those who are alarmed by the increasing numbers of Hispanic people in their communities. This is in line with white supremacists' new strategy of trying to appeal to a broader audience.