As part of election year fear-mongering, conservatives have once again tried to foment fear over our southern border. Some good ol’ boy cowboy-hat-wearing nitwit recently appeared on Fox Noise Channel to warn that “Muslim clothing and the Quran book” had been found at campsites near the border. In addition, right wing politicians have warned that ISIS could infiltrate from Mexico.

Yeah, right.

Not only have the FBI, Homeland Security and our counter-terrorism unit dismissed the claims, the accusations are obviously false on their own merits. What is “Muslim clothing?” Is it a cotton robe? A hijab? A burqa? The cowboy wouldn’t recognize one if he saw it. And about that Quran…to Muslims, it is a holy book. They would not desecrate it by leaving it on the ground unless they had died. That being the case, we have nothing to worry about. The bearer of the book is dead…either having collapsed from heat and dehydration or shot by some gun-toting, flag-waving “patriot.”

In reality, such fears about our southern border are the result of racism…fear that more of those brown people, whether they’re Muslim or Catholic will immigrate into the US. On the other hand, the only terrorists known to have successfully attacked our nation either came into the country across our more extensive border with Canada, entered our nation legally with student visas, or were born here (remember Timothy McVeigh?).

Fact is, we have more to fear from home-grown terrorists and the Faux News Channel’s attempts to divide us than we do from Muslim-clothing-wearing, Quran-carrying immigrants attempting to cross our southern border.