Civil Rights: Immigration

Brenda Walker and Dan Amato: Anti-Immigrant Bloggers

For the full version of the report, see Brenda Walker and Dan Amato: Anti-Immigrant Bloggers (PDF).

As xenophobic groups and individuals continue to vilify undocumented immigrants, particularly Latinos, at rallies, in the media, and on their Web sites, some anti-immigrant figures are using blogs as a vehicle to showcase their bigotry towards immigrants. Some of these blogs are independent, while others are attached to well-established anti-immigrant Web sites. The bloggers' informal posts reveal their stereotypes of immigrants and expose their ties to other xenophobic activists.

Brenda Walker and Dan Amato are two of the most prolific and outspoken of these bloggers. Though located on different coasts, they have used their blogs to unite readers across the country under the anti-immigrant umbrella. Walker and Amato are not just interested in having fans who read their posts; they have encouraged readers to take action or support the movement financially. They have capitalized on blogs to express their views and connect followers and readers to developments in the anti-immigrant movement.

• Brenda Walker is a California-based environmentalist and feminist turned anti-immigrant blogger, whose strident rhetoric demonizes not only undocumented immigrants, but an array of ethnic and religious groups, mainly Latinos and Muslims.
• Dan “Digger” Amato is a Pennsylvania-based anti-immigrant blogger and activist. Since May 2003, Amato has made his name known in anti-immigrant circles with prolific postings on his DiggersRealm blog and repeat appearances at anti-immigrant rallies, where he is often featured as a speaker.