Creative Loafing Editors:
Your story, "Easy Prey," in the current issue of CL, has come to my attention. The violence visited on immigrants in recent years, whether legal or illegal residents, is disturbing. And this story from the Southern Poverty Law Center illustrates it. Not enough attention is being paid to the problem, and in fact the number of crimes of this nature likely goes underreported because the victims do not lodge complaints because of their illegal status or their native cultures hold a pervasive distrust of law enforcement.

You mention a number of organizations and individuals which oppose current U.S. immigration policies, and for the most part the article tries to stigmatize them as "racists" and "xenophobic hate organizations." My own organization, The Georgia Heritage Council, is mentioned in the article as "when it's not defending the Confederate battle flag--spreads the word that 'immigration is out of control'."

Neither the Heritage Council nor myself are associated with any of the groups mentioned in "Easy Prey", nor with any individuals you mention. Congressman Tancredo, however, by all accounts is an honorable man and so far as I have read, his views on immigration are reasonable and resonate with most Americans.

Given what we know about the Southern Poverty Law Center, we are not surprised that they would distort the truth in their report to make it appear that the Georgia Heritage Council (formerly 'Coalition') was guilty of motives and actions similar to the other groups mentioned.

The SPLC is a parasitic organization that specializes in character assassination by the use of distortions, demagoguery and outright lies and their typical "M.O." is to use the "racist" and "hate group" label. The SPLC is in our view anti-Christian, anti-Southern, anti-tradition, anti-American and anti-Truth. We are continually surprised at the number of otherwise reputable publishers who use SPLC disinformation at risk to their reputations. SPLC "information" is often proven false, inaccurate or misleading, which in turn puts egg on the faces of the publishers who promulgate their propaganda. We have been publicly critical of the SPLC and their lies and distortions, so we're not completely surprised that they would single out the GHC in a story that's completely unrelated to us.

The Georgia Heritage Council is an organization open to all persons who are concerned with preserving American and Southern heritage, including our Confederate inheritance, but also historic structures and neighborhoods, our environment, and a Georgia which reflects an allegiance to our culture and history and individuality. We favor the literal interpretation of the Constitution and the rule of law. We favor accountability in government, and believe government officials should follow the laws and constitutions and be responsive to the ultimate authority, the People. You can go to our website, GeorgiaHeritageCouncil.org, and find our positions on a number of issues. You are also invited to check out the "X-files" during your visit and a number of commentaries about the SPLC.

Not only does illegal immigration contribute to significant security risks (terrorism) for Americans, it also introduces massive costs to be born by American taxpayers (healthcare, education, crime, etc.) while benefitting an elite few who do not bear these direct and indirect costs. The fact that other organizations or individuals state these same facts does not negate or discredit these facts, nor does it create any affiliation between those others and GHC. We may all agree that the sky is blue, but that does not mean that Creative Loafing is affiliated with GHC or that CL is affiliated with the KKK.

With regard to immigration, we oppose illegal immigration and policies which contribute to it, whether by the U.S. Government, State Government, Corporations, or individuals. We support all measures to discourage and punish those responsible for it, and we support laws to make illegal immigration more difficult and less lucrative to violators by any legal and ethical means, including prevention, punishment and deportation. And, more importantly, so do most Georgians, and most Americans.

Jeff Davis
Chairman, Georgia Heritage Council