WASHINGTON, Nov 24 (OneWorld) - Leading civil rights groups today denounced the rise in hate crimes taking place in the United States, especially against Hispanics, and called for passage of a proposal that would ensure federal jurisdiction when local officials fail to act.
Hate crimes against Hispanics have risen steadily for the last four years, and crimes against African-American, Asian-American, and Jewish people, as well as gays and lesbians, all increased last year, according to FBI statistics gathered for its Uniform Crime Reporting Program.
In recent weeks alone several incidents have taken place, including the murder of 37-year-old Ecuadorian citizen Marcello Lucero by a group of Long Island teenagers, cross-burnings in New Jersey, and the timely arrest of skinheads planning to assassinate Barack Obama in Tennessee.
"The wave of hate that is seeping through our communities threatens the fabric of our nation and is costing lives. Americans will not be cowed by those trying to advance intolerance -- we must stand up to the presence of hate groups and extremists in our communities and speak with one voice to say we will not be dehumanized," argued Janet Murguía, director of the National Council of La Raza, the oldest and largest Hispanic-American civil rights organization.
Murguía was joined by representatives of African-American, Asian-American, and Jewish groups concerned about the rise in hate crimes, especially in the context of the election of Obama as president and the deteriorating economic situation.
Speakers at the Washington, DC press conference included Mark Moriel of the National Urban League, who stressed the importance of enforcing laws currently on the books.
"That hate that has trickled down to a new generation is very disturbing."
- Janet Murguía, National Council of La Raza"We fought long and hard" for these laws; they are not "ornaments" but rather "tools to be used" to prosecute those responsible for hate crimes, said Moriel, adding: "We will not remain silent" in the face of attacks on people due to their ethnic origin, religion, or gender.
Wade Henderson, CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, urged passage, "early on," of the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crime Prevention (LLEHCP) Act to expand the federal reach in the case of hate crimes, strengthen enforcement, and improve reporting of such crimes.
At present, local officials have wide latitude in defining what constitutes a hate crime, and depending on the local environment, may ignore many crimes meant to be covered under existing legislation.
The bill passed the House of Representatives last year but was dropped during negotiations in the Senate. Civil rights leaders are "optimistic" that the LLEHCP Act will be taken up early by the incoming Congress and administration, according to Henderson.
Need for new legislation, the panelists agreed, stems in part from the fact that local officials may be the very figures encouraging hate crimes; for example, speaking out against those perceived to be taking jobs or using or abusing services -- a major argument in the ongoing debate over immigration.
According to Peter Zamora of the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund, some leaders in Suffolk Country, where Lucero was killed, "have made a career of promoting hate."
Controversial media pundits such as Bill O'Reilly and Lou Dobbs and a rise in Internet-based sites promoting hate also play a key role in spurring individuals to commit racially or ethnically motivated crimes, according to the speakers.
The boys arrested for stabbing Marcelo Lucero to death, all under 18, had simply decided to "go beat up a Mexican," according to media reports.
"That hate that has trickled down to a new generation is very disturbing," said the National Council of La Raza's Murguía after Lucero's death, noting that the growing climate of hate surrounding the immigration debate was partly responsible.
"Words have consequences," she said, "and hateful words have hateful consequences."
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Comments: 6
The liberal national press adds to this major problem, by denying the ugly truth on crime statistics and the death toll, caused by the mayhem of foreign nationals running amok in our communities. Just identify the under-divulged deaths of the 3 Bolgna family members in San Francisco, with an illegal alien gang member peppering their car with a AK 47. Or the repugnant death of Jamiel Shaw in Los Angeles, because his murderer though he was another gang member. Police offers have been shot to death in routine Traffic stops in Texas.
The list of thousands of innocent citizens and legal residents have been forgotten by a media, who are either frightened of being addressed as racists. Or a newspaper that sympathize for the criminal element found amongst foreign nationals.
Those who steal across our perforated fence, includes the criminal element that think they above above US law. Each day citizens are slain on the roads of America, by drunk illegal drivers. This is far from isolated case, because these accident reports are not necessary revealed by the biased press. Pedestrians have become 'road kill' daily, especially when the victims are innocent children. Do not expect to read about this carnage in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times. You need to dig deeper in rural newspapers or the e-media on the Internet, to find the unsuppressed facts.
Then we have the violent street gangs protected by 'Sanctuary cities' like Los Angeles. The unsuppressed news reports will tell you about the child pedophiles, female assaults, murders, robbers and Social security theft that do not get wide press. Thousands of families are left to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. The pro-immigrant zealots use the same mantra, that citizens and legal residents commit these crimes also...? But why when we have our own inmate crowding our prisons, should we need to support illegal foreign nationals criminals. Today we cannot even deport them and breathe a sigh of relief, because it seems like days before the return via the porous fence to violate our penal laws.
It seems like our 'Rule of Laws' are violated everyday, because the business empire demands cheap labor. Our corrupt politicians play games with American lives because they refuse to enforce immigration laws. The all encompassing is the Federal SAVE ACT(H.R.4088) that Speaker Nancy Pelosi is all but derailed along with the original two-tier border fence.We need 'zero tolerance' enforcement, that will give maximum arrest and detainment of predator employers of illegal immigrants. They are the main pariah in our society who should be locked away, as without work millions of illegal aliens will leave our country unable to make any income. LARGE FINES, CONFISCATION OF BUSINESS ASSETS AND PRISON TERMS should be heavily enforced.
Because the inaction to obstruct illegal immigration by the Clinton administration and somewhat the Bush gang we have been buried under a real epidemic of illegal foreign nationals. Whether illegally here by overstaying their visa, jumping a ship or just slipping past our undermanned border security, they have become a financial burden to every American taxpayer. Because of the incompetence of our sitting governments since 1986 the barrage of millions of illegal entrance hasn't stopped, so individual counties, have enforced their own immigration policies under the Federal law called 287 (g).
Under the supervision of sworn U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. Under 287(g), ICE provides state and local law enforcement with the training and subsequent authorization to identify, process, and when appropriate, detain immigration offenders they encounter during their regular, daily law-enforcement activity. Many states have also enacted employer sanction law,but needs the added teeth of the SAVE ACT, which will strengthen its enforcement power. The E-verify system which was the original infant of the Federal SAVE ACT (H.R.4088) has been intentionally derailed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and other anti-sovereignty Democrats. However, in this year of a damaged economy the E-Verify enactment has been given a lease on life for five months.
A new AMNESTY is in the works from President elect Obama, McCain which will flood America with even more of poor, illiterate foreign labor. McCain is a 'dark horse' because his original stand with pro-illegal immigrant groups. How can we trust either McCain to seal our border, when he is a hard-core globalist? Most globalists are open border, free market zealots, whose agenda is the free movement of cheap labor in the North American Continent, which under Bush's Imperial rule has decimated America's industrial base.
AMERICANS HAVE BECOME A CASH COW FOR THE IMPOVERISHED OF CORRUPT FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS.
OBAMA WILL HAVE A WAR ON HIS HANDS IF HE TRIES TO IMPLEMENT A PATH TO CITIZENSHIP, OVER HONEST IMMIGRANTS WHO FILLED IN THE FORMS AND WAITED PATIENTLY IN OTHER COUNTRIES FOR THEIR RIGHT TO BE HERE.
37 million people illegal aliens here, according to Tucson sector Border Patrol union local 2544--NOT 13 MILLION, AS THE NUMBERS HAVE BEEN MANIPULATED BY THE LIBERAL NATIONAL PRESS AND SPECIAL INTEREST LOBBY. An additional half-million coming every year.
TO TERMINATE ALL FREE WELFARE HANDOUTS TO ILLEGAL ALIENS! The corrupt LIBERAL-politicians and judiciary stole your future away from you by pandering to illegal foreign nationals.
It is estimated that the cost to supporting illegal aliens is over a $1trillion dollars a year in government handouts.
Read about www.judicialwatch.org winning court cases against parasite employers, illegal immigrant groups and corrupt politicians.
www.numbersusa.com is your HQ, to find the ugly facts not lies. www.capsweb.org has different petitions to fight the illegal alien pestilence.
Read about the unrevealed war going on at www.americanpatrol.com
Our future free of OVERPOPULATION, is up to YOU?
That is interesting but it is not germane to the article. It is your issue.
The only way to solve illegal immigration is to enforce the laws already on the books about hiring illegal immigrants. Those businesses and individuals who give them jobs are the real criminals. ICE does not do its job. Those are the problems you speak of, Dave.
The media is not reporting many crimes in large cities because there are too many to mention. It has nothing to do with a bias for or against.
Hispanics do not deserve to die because of ethnic hatreds. That is what this article is about. The crimes are on the rise. Something needs to be done.
You had me right up until you started naming Journalists that don't share your opinion as haters.. thats when you gave yourself away as a left wing wack job!
That is what is happening in many communities that have been tolerant with "foolish kids" and their gangs that play "innocent games" of "wilding" and "jumping" on other races, ethnics, old people, gays, etc .. They finally graduate to murderers.
And the Big Apple becomes the Clockwork Orange, as it has happened in New York, because of impunity and complacency with thugs.
Manuel Aucaquizhpi 1994
Rene Perez 2007
Marcelo Lucero 2008
Jose Sucuzhanay 2008
All of them murdered in New York
Luis Ramirez in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania 2008
These men have been killed by "innocent kids" and "honor students" and "football players" that are the pride of grandma. All of them "sweet kids" and "nice children".
I have a big roster of gays that were murdered by these teen gangs only for being gays. Or Black People murdered for being Black.
And of Women assaulted, raped or enslaved for being from the Wrong Race or Sexual Orientation.
See more rosters of victims, sadism, cruelty and brutality here :
Raciality.com
Vicente Duque