Statement from Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO Condemning Recent Rash of Hate Crimes, November 24, 2008

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Good morning. My name is Janet Murguía and I am the President and CEO of the National Council of La Raza. As a civil rights organization, NCLR stands here today with representatives from MALDEF, the National Urban League, the NAACP, the Asian American Justice Center, and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights to express our alarm over the rise in hate and violence against our communities.

Most recently, on November 8th, in Suffolk County, New York, Marcelo Lucero was going to visit a friend to watch a movie when he was attacked and murdered by seven teenagers. Mr. Lucero was 37 years old. Originally from Ecuador, he had lived in this country for 16 years. According to Newsday, Suffolk County police said the defendants "simply wanted to beat up someone who looked Mexican."

On election night, Alie Kamara, a teenager from Liberia, was assaulted by two teenagers shouting racial epithets and “Obama” in Staten Island, New York.

While we are grateful that the authorities have taken swift action, Mr. Lucero's death should serve as a wake-up call to all Americans.

The Southern Poverty Law Center recently reported that it has seen “hundreds of incidents” throughout the country since Election Day, including hate crimes, vandalism, and threats.

Late last month, the FBI released its latest hate-crime statistics, which show that attacks against Latinos and Asian Americans have risen steadily over the past four years. The Southern Poverty Law Center reports that the number of hate groups targeting Latinos and immigrants has also increased over the same period.

And a USA Today article late last month noted that the recent resurgence of White supremacist groups was being “fueled by illegal immigration.”

We believe that the wave of hate unleashed by the polarized debate over immigration has led to the increase in violence and hate groups targeting Latinos.

And the key players in this wave of hate are found among elected officials and the media, especially talk radio and cable news.

While immigrant bashing in the election was thankfully not as significant an issue as many expected, it was still evident. In two congressional races, one in Minnesota and one in Virginia, the faces of candidates who were Indian- and Italian-American, respectively, were darkened in attack ads by their opponents. Several down-ticket candidates ran anti-immigrant ads including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senator Elizabeth Dole.

Suffolk County is a particularly good example of elected officials stoking the fires of anti-immigrant sentiment. Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy has taken a notably hard line against immigrants in his county and has been lauded by cable hosts like Lou Dobbs as a “folk hero.” Levy has used terms such as “anchor babies” and “amnesty” in his role as cofounder of Mayors and Executives for Immigration Reform. He has worked directly with FAIR on the group’s summit in Washington, DC and on other anti-immigrant and anti-immigration activities on Long Island.

Is it any wonder then that Mr. Lucero's murder is the second murder in as many years of an Hispanic resident of Suffolk County? It follows a string of attacks against immigrants, including the kidnapping and brutal beating of two Mexican day laborers in 2000 and the burning of a Mexican family's home by five teenagers in 2003.

Mr. Lucero's death is a direct outcome of the anger and hate spurred on by certain media outlets that mischaracterize all Latinos and the institutions that serve them as a threat to our country.

Media Matters just released a report on talk radio’s latest salvos against women and minorities in the wake of this historic election.

Talk Show hosts Jim Quinn and Lee Rodgers erroneously placed the blame for our current financial crisis on “bad mortgages given to millions of illegal aliens.”

Talk Show host Michael Savage referred to illegal aliens “raping and disheveling the Statue of Liberty” and Muslim residents of Virginia as “throwbacks to the 15th century.”

For two years we have urged politicians and members of the media to show some restraint in echoing the damaging rhetoric that demonizes our communities. We have asked them to question the source material of those who suggest our community is somehow a threat to the health and safety of all Americans.

We recognize that there are many who disagree with our policy positions. And we welcome a spirited debate over those positions. But there is no place for hate in civil discourse.

Words have consequences. And hateful words have hateful consequences. In Suffolk County, hate has trickled down to a new generation of Americans and it should disturb everyone in this room.

In the wake of an historic election that sent a message to the world about freedom and liberty in America, it seems incongruous, today, to raise the specter of hate in our communities. Thankfully, hate did not win in this election, but hate is still here with us.

The organizations represented here are committed to working together to monitor incidents of hate crimes and hate rhetoric, to urge policymakers and the media to cease resorting to bias and bigotry, and to increase tolerance and understanding among all communities.

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