During the June 5 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, G. Gordon Liddy claimed that undocumented immigrants from Mexico come to the United States and “want to fly the Mexican flag” and “want to speak Spanish” instead of learning English. Liddy then stated: “They want to reconquer America, they say.”

Discussing immigration with a caller, Liddy asserted: "[T]he problem that I have is with people who come over here and instead of wanting to become Americans, you know, fly the American flag, learn English, and so forth, they want to fly the Mexican flag, they want to speak Spanish, you know, and other varieties of illegal alien. And that's -- that is what distinguishes these people from the previous immigrants." He continued: “Previous immigrants said, 'Man, we can't wait to get out of' -- you know, whatever the country was they came from. 'We can't wait to get to the United States. We want to be Americans, we want to learn English, and, we want, you know, the best for our children,' and what have you. And they proudly displayed the American flag.” Liddy added: “Not so, especially these illegal aliens up from Mexico and what have you. They want to reconquer America, they say. They have this outfit called the Reconconquista [sic] or something of that sort, whatever it is in illegal alien.”

Media Matters for America has repeatedly documented instances of conservative commentators, including columnist Michelle Malkin and MSNBC political analyst Pat Buchanan, claiming that immigrants subscribe to a “reconquista” philosophy aimed at recapturing the Southwestern United States for Mexico. "Reconquista" is a term associated with El Plan Espiritual de Aztlán, a document drafted in the early formation of the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (Chicano Student Movement of Aztlán, or MEChA), a group with affiliates at numerous college campuses and several high schools that “promotes higher education, cultura, and historia.”

In a July 15, 2006, article, Los Angeles Times reporter David Kelly wrote of El Plan Espiritual de Aztlán:

MEChA leaders say it is a historical document from a more radical time distorted by critics who focus on a few lines while missing the broader picture.

“When did we say we wanted a separate nation? We never did,” said Graciela Larios, who recently retired as head of the UC Riverside MEChA club. “We know about the spiritual plan for Aztlan. It reflects the time it was written in. We are not ashamed of it. We stand by it.”

From the June 5 broadcast of Radio America's The G. Gordon Liddy Show:

CALLER: I thought at one time that for immigrants, we -- they were required to have a sponsor, and --

LIDDY: Yes, they -- a sponsor. What that meant was, someone who would be responsible for a place for them to stay, you know, housing, and a job. So that the whole idea was that they would not become a -- what was called a “public charge” -- you know, would be on welfare or anything like that. They would come here, they would have somebody who would sponsor them, they'd have a job, and they'd have a place to stay.

CALLER: Well, I believe that could be enlarged upon and -- so that we wouldn't be put upon by these people that come here and want to raise heck about America. I'm a proud American, and I believe that those of us that are citizens have a right to complain about things that we find grievous, but if you're a newbie coming to America, you need to want to be America -- an American and love America, not come over here and raise dickens and be protesting and all that business. Because you don't have the right to do that. It may say so, but if it does, that needs to be changed, because that's just not right.

LIDDY: Well, now, America's a free country. And everyone who is here legally has the protections of the Constitution, and one of them is the right to gather together peacefully to petition government, you know, with respect to any grievance that you might have. Now, I don't have any problem with that. What I have -- the problem --

[crosstalk]

LIDDY: Now, wait a minute. Now, the problem that I have is with people who come over here and instead of wanting to become Americans, you know, fly the American flag, learn English, and so forth, they want to fly the Mexican flag, they want to speak Spanish, you know, and other varieties of illegal alien. And that's -- that is what distinguishes these people from the previous immigrants. Previous immigrants said, “Man, we can't wait to get out of” -- you know, whatever the country was they came from. “We can't wait to get to the United States. We want to be Americans, we want to learn English, and, we want, you know, the best for our children,” and what have you. And they proudly displayed the American flag. Not so, especially these illegal aliens up from Mexico and what have you. They want to reconquer America, they say. They have this outfit called the Reconconquista [sic] or something of that sort, whatever it is in illegal alien.

CALLER: La Raza.

LIDDY: Yeah, well, La Raza, that's another outfit. That's called “the race,” that's what that means.

CALLER: You made my point very well, probably much better than I could. But that is exactly what I'm talking about. If you want to come here and love America like we do, that's all great. If you don't, stay home.

LIDDY: Well, yes. And we're talking about legal immigration. We're not talking about the illegals, either.

Jordan R. Kujala is an intern at Media Matters for America.