Georgia Lawmaker Wants Mexican Immigrants Shot

First, they wanted to detain immigrants in internment camps and ship them out. Now they want to shoot them on sight. Yee-haw, the American cowboy lives on!

Georgia state representative John Yates has swallowed the insanity pill. He wants the government to drop fliers in Northern Mexico stating that anyone found crossing the border would be shot. “[The National Guard] ought to be armed and, if warned by leaflets dropped all over Mexico that says that we will shoot to kill if anybody crosses, and be serious about this — and if they do that then there won’t be anybody killed,” Yates said.

When asked whether he was serious about the suggestion and not just overstating his point, Representative Yates declared that undocumented immigrants are enemies of the state. “Stopping Hitler was worth the price,” he said, directly implying that people crossing the border from Mexico are equivalent to Nazis. I am not sure what undocumented immigrants have in common with an Austrian immigrant in Germany who kept a bad mustache, needed better fashion sense, and exterminated over six million Jews.

When asked if he could see why people would be upset with his comments Yates stated “No, I don’t think they’d be upset with what I’d say.” Oh Rep. Yates, but people are upset. See, shooting to kill people is capital punishment and a heinous suggestion that certainly does not fit the “crime.” We don’t even shoot to kill rapists and murderers in this society.

The Anti-Defamation League is certainly not taking this one lightly. “We are seeing a frightening ratcheting up of hate speech about undocumented workers from Mexico, and John Yates has taken the rhetoric to a level of extremism that is shocking and deeply disturbing,” said Bill Nigut, the ADL’s southeast regional director. “Comparing Mexicans crossing the border illegally to Hitler’s army is grossly offensive to Jews and others who suffered the tragic consequences of the Nazi’s so-called “Final-Solution.'”

Yates may be suffering from post-traumatic stress given he is a World War II veteran, and itching for a new battle at the age of 89. Maybe he ought to retire and try his hands at video games for entertainment.

Photo and Video Credit: tjscenes / MyFoxAtlanta