Actually, probably unintentionally, Know-Nothings isn't a bad term. The Know-Nothings were an anti-immigrant political party in the 1840's and 50's. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Know_Nothing
Indeed so. They were named as such not because they didn't know anything, but because of their habit of saying 'I know nothing' if questioned about their political activities. Immigration is kind of my specialty knowledge domain, actually :-)
As for the Berlin Wall crack in the grandparent, of course I know the Berlin Wall was meant to keep people in. That doesn't stop people who want to militarize the border with Mexico from explicitly holding it up as a model. Read the comments on any Wall Street Journal story about immigration and you can be pretty sure of seeing it cited approvingly within a few pages.
Actually not, because their commenting system uses flash so you can't search for/link to individual comments. As you can see from a simple Google search, though, I am far from the first to make the comparison: https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ie=...
All the examples on the first page of google (except maybe for the youtube and facebook links - didn't bother reading those) consist of proponents of increased Mexican immigration stupidly comparing a proposed border fence to the Berlin wall.
However, I'll admit that I've also seen proponents of secure borders making Berlin wall comparisons under one circumstance. Often proponents of increased Mexican immigration claim a secure border is impossible to construct, and the Berlin or Korean DMZ is brought up by their opponents to prove they are incorrect.
We just had a candidate that flamed out in the race for the GOP nomination speak with approval of an electrified fence. I have never claimed this to be the majority position on the right (it isn't; about 40% of GOPers support restriction ist policies), but if you think immigration restrictionists aren't in love with the idea of walling off the border you're in denial.
I never disputed that many people want to secure the border. I disputed that "people who want to militarize the border with Mexico [...] explicitly hold[...] it [the Berlin wall] up as a model."
Per your own comment, you are ignoring some sources, including those which present counterexamples. In any case, I suggest you back up from this indivudal tree and take a look at the whole wood.
