On today’s show, Armando Ibarra joins Allen Ruff to talk about the prevalence of anti-immigrant rhetoric in the GOP platform. Ibarra discusses what makes anti-immigrant narratives so appealing and how politicians use the language of “safety” and “invasion” to fuel racism and xenophobia in their base. 

To counter the anti-immigrant narratives promulgated by conservatives, Ibarra tracks the long history of anti-immigrant political rhetoric, points out the huge economic gains that migrant laborers provide to the US, and says that unauthorized immigrants pay taxes and contribute to Social Security, a program that they won’t have access to. Ibarra asserts that unauthorized immigrants are the most vulnerable when states institute austerity practices. 

Armando Ibarra is a Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor in the School for Workers at UW-Madison. He is the co-author of the award winning The Latino Question: Politics, Labouring Classes and the Next Left. Ibarra also works with Voces de la Frontera and Centro Hispano. 

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