Washington, DC—NCLR (National Council of La Raza), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, urged law enforcement officials to guard against the “pattern and practice of hate” in local jurisdictions in light of today’s release of the FBI-compiled report, Hate Crime Statistics, 2008. While the statistics show that the number of hate crimes committed against Latinos remains virtually unchanged from 2007, 64% of the hate crimes based on perceived ethnicity or national origin targeted Latinos, compared to 61% in 2007. The rise in race-based hate crimes mirrors an increase in the number of hate groups targeting Latinos, as tracked by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

“The most frightening thing about these numbers is what goes unrecorded,” said Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO, noting that incidents targeting undocumented immigrants are rarely reported to authorities. “We look at these numbers as the tip of the iceberg, and even then, the trend over the past five years is unmistakable.”

Murguía blamed the violence in part on the growing climate of hate surrounding the immigration debate. “Words have consequences,” she said. “For too long, hate groups and hate speech have dominated the national debate on immigration and demonized Latinos as a threat to our communities. Hate crimes are the consequence of this extremist rhetoric.”

Murguía pointed specifically to the case of Marcelo Lucero, an Ecuadoran immigrant who was waiting for a train in Patchogue, New York when he was assaulted and killed by seven teenagers out to “beat up Mexicans.” The case sparked an outcry from local and national Hispanic groups that pointed to similar cases in and around the Suffolk County area, which led to a Department of Justice investigation of the practice and pattern of hate in the community.

“The death of Marcelo Lucero should be a wake-up call for America,” said Murguía, who was particularly concerned over the age of the alleged attackers. “It should be very disturbing to us that hate has trickled down to a new generation. I urge all local law enforcement jurisdictions to treat such attacks aggressively and guard against the climate of fear they create.”

Murguía also pointed to the murders of Jose Sucuzhanay and Luis Ramirez, two men who were beaten to death in separate incidents last year by attackers shouting ethnic slurs. Sucuzhanay, a Brooklyn real estate agent, was walking home with his brother late one night and attacked by bat-wielding men shouting antigay and anti-Hispanic slurs. Ramirez, an immigrant from Mexico, was killed by a group of White football players in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania.

“These crimes are happening everywhere, in small towns, suburbs, and rural communities all across America. Wherever you find hate, you will find hate crime. Unfortunately, we’re finding it all too often,” concluded Murguía.

For more information, visit www.WeCanStopTheHate.org.

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