"In my middle-class, largely white parish, on the periphery of the Washington, D.C., area, there is a new "hostility" to immigrants, even though these migrants have been here for years."

When demagogues posing as politicians use fear to get votes, the IQ of the average voter plummets.  People vote out of fear instead of logic.  That is why we have come to the sad state this country is in now.