There’s more detail about this session at TPM:
The only panel dedicated to immigration at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference quickly went off the rails Thursday, with audience members drowning out panelists’ presentation of data about the benefits of immigration with boos, laughter, and stories of “obvious illegal immigrants defecating in the woods, fornicating in the woods.” […]
When he noted that the U.S. proportionally takes in very fewimmigrants and refugees compared to other nations, a man interjected, “You’re a dreamer!” and much of the crowd broke out in applause and jeers. […]
And in case you think this nativist, anti-immigrant, xenophobic position is somehow new to the Republican Party,
But having attended CPAC for the last six years, Bier conceded that the Republican base’s attitude toward immigrants has not significantly shifted.
“I don’t think it’s that different [from past years],” he said. “There’s always a very large contingent most passionate about immigration—about opposing it. It certainly seems like the passion is always with the side that wants to restrict it and not with the side that wants it to be more open.” — talkingpointsmemo.com/…
A speaker talking about the beauty of naturalization ceremonies at CPAC was loudly booed by the audience.
Now, CPAC is the premier Conservative/Republican conference of the year. Trump, Pence, several cabinet members and governors spoke there. It’s attended by legislative aides, activists, aspiring politicians, the core of the Republican party.
For anyone who has attended a naturalization ceremony, you know there is rarely a dry eye in the room. I was naturalized (became a citizen) 5 years ago, and I remember the ceremony I attended. I was among 170 odd people who became US citizens that day, at that place. They were old and young and from all across the world.
I had lived in the US 18 years, as a student and a worker, before I was eligible. Many in that courtroom had walked a far harder road than I had to come to that place.
I remember the judge who administered the oath/affirmation spoke about his parents who had been first-generation immigrants. He said perhaps one of our children too would become a Federal judge.
There were a lot of people in that room, some poor, for whom the process had meant an expenditure of thousands of dollars. For whom the very idea that their child might one day become a federal judge had been almost unimaginable. Except it was now a little more imaginable, because they were Americans.
And when we were done he reminded us we were all Americans now, and we had the same rights as every other American. That this was a bedrock principle of the nation which welcomed us.
In my mind, and that of all immigrants, that principle is what the Republicans at CPAC were booing. When they are booing, they are pissing on the promise and possibility that judge, standing in place for the nation and our government, shared with us in that courtroom.
And these people booing, along with the president and many, many members of his party are very, very clear that they are booing all immigrants, including those who have never been undocumented.
The thing is, the judge who spoke to us that day was right about one thing, we do have those rights.
And we will be exercising them. I’d vote for a doormat before I vote for a Republican.
— @subirgrewal