Sticker Equates Illegal Immigrants to Wild Game

Offensive stickers resembling hunting permits were being sold in a Colorado-based convenience store chain, Agfinity. KUSA-TV reported on the controversy this past week. The store claimed the stickers were removed from their stores, but reporters found that wasn’t true. On top of that, only after receiving a bombardment of complaints did Agfinity issue an insincere apology on its Facebook page, “We at Agfinity deeply regret the concern this issue related to bumper stickers that had been for sale in our store has raised in our community. We have removed the bumper sticker display from our stores. As an organization, we do not condone offensive messages of this nature.”

First of all, “illegal immigrant”, here, means Mexican immigrants. As a country, we’ve built walls and have armed guards protecting our “borders”. And, by borders, we mean the Mexican-U.S. border. There are no walls, no guns and no border patrol on our northern border with Canada. No one is “hunting” Canadian immigrants, Asian immigrants or European immigrants. In Anzaldua’s Borderlands, she says, “Borders are set up to define the places that are safe and unsafe, to distinguish us from them. Gringos in the U.S. Southwest consider the inhabitants of the borderlands transgressors, aliens—whether they possess documents or not” (p. 25).

Second, in addition to the blatant racism of these “hunting permits” directed most assuredly at Mexican immigrants, the idea that they encourage the idea that we as “Americans” should be hunting and killing illegal immigrants is utterly disturbing. The permit reads, “No bag limit—Tagging not required.” This “permit” that seems to be one big “joke” practically encourages modern day lynching, only this time the targets are illegal immigrants. Anzaldua is right when she describes borderlands as a landscape filled with “hatred, anger and exploitation” (preface). This sticker spurs on deep-rooted hatred and fear of illegal immigrants. It gives the U.S. a much need scapegoat for all of our economic, social and political hardships.

This “joke” proves how important immigration reform is to our country. It is vital in shaping our relations with other countries and even relations within our own country. I’m afraid one issue that won’t be addressed, however, with immigration reform is racism toward “terrorists”. And, by “terrorists”, we mean anyone who looks Middle Eastern. Is there a never-ending cycle of scapegoats for our country?