Despite repeated debunking of wild right wing myths about surging crime statistics in the Southwest, tea party activists and immigration restrictionists continued their fear mongering this weekend in Hereford, Arizona.

The New York Times reports:

Hundreds of Tea Party activists converged on the border fence here in what is typically a desolate area popular with traffickers to rally for conservative political candidates and to denounce what they called lax federal enforcement of immigration laws.

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The Obama administration insists that its statistics show that significant financing increases in the federal Border Patrol have helped bring down crime at the border and make the smuggling of immigrants and drugs harder than ever.

But the activists who gathered Sunday had a decidedly different take. The border, in their view, is still far too easy to get across and has become so dangerous that some of them brought their sidearms for protection. Organizers urged participants to leave rifles in their cars.

So despite statistics, facts and reality, the Times continues to indulge tea party fantasies with a serious piece, including the quote: “We don’t like illegals hiding under bushes when our kids wait for the school bus. This border needs to be secure.” That’s some high quality journalism.

Perhaps the strangest part of this cry for attention by “hundreds” of tea party activists was Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s proclamation that he’d scale the border fence, just to show how easy it is — if only the national media was there!

Will nothing short of an alligator filled moat satisfy this delusional crowd? Border enforcement is up. Deportations are up. The President just spent another $600 million on border security. Crime is down. And yet, hysteria is through the roof. It’s time for the Times and other media outlets to start calling out the right wing lies that are poisoning the debate and delaying comprehensive immigration reform.

Categories: Arizona, comprehensive immigration reform, enforcement