The Palestine Liberation Organization, the Irish Republican Army, the Chechen rebels in Russia, the Basques in Spain, and the Quebecois in Canada are among the many separatist movements that parallel the conditions that could develop in the U.S. Southwest.

Fringe movements seeking to redraw the current borders of the United States have drawn media attention.

Some of the separatist rhetoric…

“Aztlán belongs to those who plant the seeds, water the fields, and gather the crops and not to the foreign Europeans. We do not recognize capricious frontiers on the bronze continent.”
El Plan Espiritual deAztlan

“We declare ourselves independent from the Europeans on our continent. We refuse to be slaves to their culture or their interests! We are taking the necessary steps that will liberate our people.”
The Mexica Movement

“La Raza and the Palestinians have been displaced by invaders that have utilized military means to conquer and occupy our territories.”
La Voz de Aztlan Editorial

Anglo extremism on the rise

The fast-growing Hispanic presence in the U.S. has sparked a rising tide of anti-immigrant sentiment. Among the extremists, Hispanics have become the scapegoats for many of the nation’s ills—a dangerous recipe that could incite vigilante violence.

The words of the Anglo extremists...

“Mexicans have gotten the idea that they have the right to breed like flies, and that it is our duty to feed and clothe them. Our treasonous politicians have allowed this to happen. For that, they deserve to be dangling from a rope. A "shoot to kill on sight" policy should be established for illegal border crossers. This should be done without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, national origin, or citizenship status.”
Sendemback.org

“Our sovereign nation is facing an overwhelming illegal alien invasion by an Hispanic 'migrant army' that has defied our immigration laws and sovereignty. The invasion of America now totals 20 -23 million and rising. Of that number, 90% are Hispanics who balkanize our cities and towns, and arrogantly corrupt our unifying national language while actively disrespecting our culture, society and country!”
MichNews.com

"…there WILL be civil war in this country"
Daneen G. Peterson, Ph.D. - Editor MichNews.com
Read the author's interview with this writer

“Are you sick and tired of seeing your country turned into a Third World sewer by immigration?”
Emigration Party of Nevada

“Years of inculcation by the doctrines of political correctness have left you emasculated and impotent, silenced by the thunderous chants of "racist" and "bigot." And there you stand and watch, paralyzed by fear, as your community is ravaged by the illegal alien invasion and turned into a Third World cesspool. Find your voice. Find your will to fight!”
SaveOurState.org

“The nature and character of the invasion is far different than anything that used to happen. 58% of the Mexican people in one survey indicated they believed that the American Southwest belonged actually to Mexico. It was stolen from them. It belongs to them and I think that the Mexican government has a direct program basically to push it’s poor, unemployed, and uneducated into the United States for a variety of purposes. And one of them, in my judgment is an attempt at the reconquista they call it, the reannexation of the seven days states of the American Southwest, link linguistically, ethnically and culturally to become as much a part of Mexico is they are a part of America. And I think that is well underway.”
Patrick J. Buchanan

America Libre and House Divided paint a nightmare scenario. But it is only one possible future.

We must not fall prey to the messages of the hate mongers - on both sides of this issue. Ironically, the only war of secession ever fought on U.S. soil was the War Between the States, a conflict led by English-speaking whites. In fact, statistics on the current wave of immigration* offers some promising facts:

• The proportion of immigrants in the United States today is lower than it was 100 years ago.

• The proportion of immigrants in the United States today is lower than in many other advanced post-industrial societies, including Australia.

• Immigrants to the United States today compare more favorably on a host of demographic and socioeconomic indicators, including how fast they are learning English, than previous waves of immigrants to our country. Critics of immigration may notice lots of Spanish being spoken, but the reality is that more immigrant children go to school than, let's say, the Italian children who were sent straight to work at the turn of the century. That means they pick up the language faster.

Over the next decade, the presence of Hispanics in the U.S. will continue to grow—especially among those under twenty.** Along with that growth will likely come a greater nativist backlash. Responding to Hispanics with repressive policies and acts of hate could actually drive them into the radical camp, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. That is the cautionary tale of America Libre and House Divided. We cannot allow this nation to be divided by hate and fear. The stakes are simply too high.

Raul Ramos y Sanchez

*Harvard International Review – July 2006
**U.S. Census Bureau Interim Projections