Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) has called on the United States to fulfill its “moral obligation to the Afghan people” by swiftly accepting refugees into the country in light of the unfolding crisis in Afghanistan.
But even as Ocasio-Cortez and progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Rep. Barbara Lee (D-California) call for a more humanitarian approach toward those affected by the U.S.’s 20 years of military occupation and sudden departure from Afghanistan, right-wing media have resorted to racist and exclusionary language in speaking of the refugees.
In a series of tweets on the matter, Ocasio-Cortez explained why she felt it was important for the U.S. to assist thousands of refugees affected by the Taliban’s swift takeover of Afghanistan this past week.
“We must waste no time or expense in helping refugees safely & swiftly leave Afghanistan,” the New York congresswoman wrote. “We must immediately welcome them to the U.S. & provide real support as they rebuild their lives.”
“For all those who lost, sacrificed, suffered, and served in the last 20 years of war and occupation, the United States has a singular responsibility in extending safe refuge to the Afghan people,” she added. “That is the absolute floor.”
For all those who lost, sacrificed, suffered, and served in the last 20 years of war and occupation, the United States has a singular responsibility in extending safe refuge to the Afghan people.
That is the absolute floor. https://t.co/j5FXjHXhAT
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 16, 2021
A number of mainstream conservative voices, however, including Fox News personalities Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham, described Afghan refugees in bigoted terms, using racist tropes that have been historically used against immigrants and refugees before.
“Is it really our responsibility to welcome thousands of potentially unvetted refugees from Afghanistan?” Ingraham asked her viewers. “All day, we’ve heard phrases like, ‘We’ve promised them.’ Well, who did? Did you?”
Ingraham’s qualms don’t match reality. The process of accepting refugees into the United States is notoriously (and oftentimes painstakingly) thorough, and can take years to complete in many cases. Each individual’s background — including their political affiliations, identity, and more — is deeply examined by a number of U.S. security agencies, a point that Ingraham omitted from her diatribe.
Carlson also criticized calls for accepting refugees into the U.S.
“We will see many refugees from Afghanistan resettle in our country, and over the next decade, that number may swell to the millions. So first we invade, and then we are invaded,” he said.
The comments from Carlson, Ingraham, and others were described by The Daily Show digital producer Matt Negrin as “openly reciting” concepts ascribed to “white replacement theory” — a white supremacist belief that there is a conspiratorial movement to reduce the white population in the U.S. and elsewhere.
“Journalists unfamiliar with Fox should call this white supremacy, not just ‘anti-refugee rhetoric,'” Negrin wrote on Twitter, sharing screenshots of what the Fox News hosts and other far right voices had said publicly about refugees.
Fox has been openly reciting white replacement theory — the anchor bolt of white supremacy — since Trump endorsed the Charlottesville nazis who chanted “Jews will not replace us”
Journalists unfamiliar with Fox should call this white supremacy, not just “anti-refugee rhetoric” pic.twitter.com/UFu2mQdySp
— Matt Negrin, HOST OF HARDBALL AT 7PM ON MSNBC (@MattNegrin) August 17, 2021
Negrin elaborated on his views by sharing more images of media organizations using tampered language to describe how right-wing commentators were discussing the matter.
“The press’s inevitable unwillingness to call this what it is — the same way they wouldn’t call Trump racist — is their tacit gift to Republicans who know they can spray their audience with carbon copy nazi manifestos and enjoy being described by mainstream outlets as ‘firebrands,'” Negrin added.
Help Truthout resist the new McCarthyism
The Trump administration is cracking down on political dissent. Under pressure from an array of McCarthy-style tactics, academics, activists and nonprofits face significant threats for speaking out or organizing in resistance.
Truthout is appealing for your support to weather this storm of censorship. We’ve launched a fundraising campaign to find 500 new monthly donors in the next 10 days. Will you be one?
As independent media with no corporate backing or billionaire ownership, Truthout is uniquely able to push back against the right-wing narrative and expose the shocking extent of political repression under the new McCarthyism. We’re committed to doing this work, but we’re also deeply vulnerable to Trump’s attacks.
Your support during our fundraiser (8 days left) will help us continue our nonprofit movement journalism in the face of right-wing authoritarianism. Please make a tax-deductible donation today.