Southern Poverty Law Center SUED Over ‘Hate’ Label

The non-partisan Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) has sued the left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), claiming SPLC executives Richard Cohen and Heidi Beirich violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) by labeling CIS “as a hate group.” (Law & Crime)
 

CIS describes itself as “an independent, non-partisan, non-profit, research organization” that “pursue[s[ a single mission – providing immigration policymakers, the academic community, news media, and concerned citizens with reliable information about the social, economic, environmental, security, and fiscal consequences of legal and illegal immigration into the United States.”

The SPLC, on the other hand, describes itself on its website as “dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society. Using litigation, education, and other forms of advocacy, the SPLC works toward the day when the ideals of equal justice and equal opportunity will be a reality.”

If you go to the SPLC website, the CIS mission is presented as being the “go-to think tank for the anti-immigrant movement” and racism:

The Center for Immigration Studies, like the rest of the organized anti-immigrant movement we see in America today, was founded by John Tanton, a Michigan ophthalmologist turned population control alarmist whose racist beliefs stirred him to create a network of organizations with a simple agenda: heavily restricting the immigration levels to the United States in order to maintain a white majority. As Tanton himself wrote in 1993, “I’ve come to the point of view that for European-American society and culture to persist requires a European-American majority, and a clear one at that.”

CIS responded to SPLC’s claims by filing a lawsuit.

CIS executive director Mark Krikorian says SPLC’s designation has led to the group’s termination from the AmazonSmile Program and cost “at least $10,000 in donations.”