How many more hate crimes against immigrants will it take?

by: Restore Fairness

Mon Apr 12, 2010 at 18:12:52 PM EDT

From the Restore Fairness blog.

Quintessentially ‘New York,’ Port Richmond is a diverse and vibrant neighborhood that has been home to most of Staten Island’s Latino community for many years. In incidents that often go unreported, in the past few years this neighborhood has seen more hate crimes against Latino immigrants than one can bear to count. The latest one took place early morning on April 5th when 26 year-old Mexican immigrant Rodulfo Olmedo was attacked by four young men outside his apartment. In this horrifyingly vicious assault, the attackers yelled racial slurs at him, beat him with wooden planks, metal chains and a baseball bat, and took his money, leaving him with a fractured skull.

Although Olmedo is home from the hospital and recovering from his injuries, the entire community is reeling from the psychological and emotional trauma caused by yet another episode of race-based violence in their midst. Last night, there was a combination of sadness and outrage as 150 community members gathered for a candlelight vigil outside the bakery where Olmedo was employed. Led by a local priest, they prayed for an end to the violence that has plagued the immigrant community for years. Speaking about the frequency of hate crimes in the area, Gonzalo Mercado, the director of the Center for Immigrant Families in Port Richmond, said that “the community is living in fear, because these types of situations are not new to this area.”

Rodulfo’s mother, Margarita Olmedo, said that the family is traumatized by the violent attack and is determined to make sure that it does not go unnoticed. She spoke to local press on Rodulfo’s behalf-

He’s under a lot of medication, so he’s resting sleeping…He just wants to make sure that everybody says something about it, that nobody should keep quiet. He does not want this to happen to anybody else.

The attack was captured by two surveillance cameras, and was broadcast on the local television channel (NY1). Following the broadcast the police received a tip, and, after searching their “stop-and-frisk” database, they arrested four suspects on Friday, the 9th of April.  The arrested youth face assault and hate crime charges, and if convicted, could received up to 25 years in prison. The arrest of the suspected perpetrators has given rise to a controversy around the NYPD database that contains information of all the people they stop, question or frisk on grounds of “reasonable suspicion,” as a part of their “stop-and-frisk” policy.

Begun in 2001, the database was started as a safeguard that recorded information of all police stops, thereby ensuring against racially disproportionate action on the part of the police. This case has brought to light the fact that a database that was initiated to prevent against racial profiling, is being used by the police to track down suspects, raising concerns amongst civil liberties advocates like the New York Civil Liberties Union. Speaking about the potential of the database to allow for racial profiling, Chris Dunn, associate legal director of the ACLU said-

The prospect of occasionally finding additional information about suspects already known to the police does not come close to justifying a police database of millions of innocent black and Latino New Yorkers.

While this case received coverage in the press, most of these cases go unreported. On Friday, community leaders in Staten Island gathered to tell people that the only way for concrete action towards putting an end to such violence is if people who are victims or witnesses of hate crimes come forward and report them. The “April 5 bias crime,”as the press has named it, drives home the fact that race-based violence against immigrants has seen a dangerous surge in the past few years.

As the momentum is growing towards just and humane immigration reform, it is important to keep in mind the horrific reality of individual stories like Rodulfo’s, unfolding in our own neighborhoods, right before our eyes.

How many more hate crimes against immigrants will it take?

by: Restore Fairness

Mon Apr 12, 2010 at 18:12:26 PM EDT

From the Restore Fairness blog.

Quintessentially ‘New York,’ Port Richmond is a  diverse and vibrant  neighborhood that has been home to most of Staten  Island’s Latino  community for many years. In incidents that often go  unreported, in the  past few years this neighborhood has seen more hate crimes against Latino immigrants than one can   bear to count. The latest one took place early morning on April 5th   when 26 year-old Mexican immigrant Rodulfo Olmedo was attacked by four   young men outside his apartment. In this horrifyingly vicious assault,   the attackers yelled racial slurs at him, beat him with wooden planks,   metal chains and a baseball bat, and took his money, leaving him with a   fractured skull.

Although Olmedo is home from the hospital and  recovering from his  injuries, the entire community is reeling from the  psychological and  emotional trauma caused by yet another episode of  race-based violence in  their midst. Last night, there was a combination  of sadness and outrage  as 150 community members gathered for a candlelight vigil outside the bakery where Olmedo   was employed. Led by a local priest, they prayed for an end to the   violence that has plagued the immigrant community for years. Speaking   about the frequency of hate crimes in the area, Gonzalo Mercado, the   director of the Center  for Immigrant  Families in Port Richmond, said that “the community is living in fear, because   these types of situations are  not new to this area.”

Rodulfo’s  mother, Margarita Olmedo, said that the family is  traumatized by the  violent attack and is determined to make sure that it  does not go  unnoticed. She spoke to local press on Rodulfo’s behalf-

He’s under a  lot of medication, so he’s  resting sleeping…He just wants to make sure  that everybody says  something about it, that nobody should keep quiet.  He does not want this  to happen to anybody else.

The attack was  captured by two surveillance cameras, and was broadcast on the local television channel (NY1).   Following the broadcast the police received a tip, and, after searching their “stop-and-frisk”   database, they arrested four suspects on Friday, the 9th of April.  The   arrested youth face assault and hate crime charges, and if convicted,   could received up to 25 years in prison. The arrest of the suspected   perpetrators has given rise to a controversy around the NYPD database that contains   information of all the people they stop, question or frisk on grounds    of “reasonable suspicion,” as a part of their “stop-and-frisk” policy.

Begun in 2001, the database was started as a   safeguard that recorded information of all police stops, thereby   ensuring against racially disproportionate action on the part of the   police. This case has brought to light the fact that a database that was   initiated to prevent against racial profiling, is being used by the   police to track down suspects, raising concerns amongst civil liberties   advocates like the New  York Civil  Liberties Union. Speaking about the potential of the  database to  allow for racial profiling, Chris Dunn, associate legal   director of the ACLU said-

The prospect of occasionally finding   additional information about suspects already known to the police does   not come close to justifying a police database of millions of innocent   black and Latino New Yorkers.

While this case received coverage  in the press, most of these cases  go unreported. On Friday, community  leaders in Staten Island gathered   to tell people that the only way for concrete action towards   putting an end to such violence is if people who are victims or   witnesses of hate crimes come forward and report them. The “April 5 bias crime,”as the press has named it,    drives home the fact that race-based violence against immigrants has    seen a dangerous surge in the past few years.

As  the momentum is growing towards just and humane   immigration reform, it is important to keep in mind the horrific reality   of individual stories like Rodulfo’s, unfolding in our own   neighborhoods, right before our eyes.

Another Attack in Patchogue, New York

by: kesquivel@nclr.org

Wed Aug 19, 2009 at 11:20:01 AM EDT

Holder Pushes Hate Crime Bill in Wake of Recent Wave of Hate

by: kesquivel@nclr.org

Mon Jul 06, 2009 at 15:12:50 PM EDT

From Vincent Chin to Luis Ramirez

by: Kai

Fri Jun 19, 2009 at 14:05:28 PM EDT

On this day in 1982, Chinese American immigrant Vincent Chin was beaten to death with a baseball bat, at his own bachelor party, by racist white auto workers in Detroit who blamed Japan for layoffs in the US auto industry. The murderers, Ronald Ebens and Michael Nitz, were convicted of manslaughter. They served no jail time, were given three years probation, fined $3,000 and ordered to pay $780 in court costs. Wayne County Circuit Judge Charles Kaufman said, "These weren't the kind of men you send to jail."

On July 14, 2008, Mexican immigrant Luis Ramirez was beaten to death by racist white teens shouting anti-Mexican epithets, in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. The murderers, Brandon Piekarsky and Derrick Donchak, were convicted of simple assault. Two days ago, they were respectively sentenced to 6 and 7 months in county jail. Piekarsky's lawyer Frederick Fanelli said, "You would be proud to have any of these kids in your classroom, and any of them as your children."

Weekly Immigration Wire: Why Are Hate Crimes on the Rise?

by: The Media Consortium

Thu Jun 18, 2009 at 11:55:56 AM EDT

by Nezua, TMC MediaWire Blogger  

On May 30, 29-year-old Raul Flores and his 9-year-old daughter Brisenia Flores were shot to death, purportedly by a group of far-right anti-immigrant activists who broke into the Flores home by posing as police officers. On Friday, Shawna Forde, anti-immigrant activist and Executive Director of the Minutemen American Defense, (MAD) along with accomplices Jason Eugene Bush and Albert Robert Gaxiola were arrested on two counts of first-degree murder and burglary charges related to the Flores murders.

Hate Crime Laws May Make Us Feel Good Pero They Won't Save Our Lives

by: MamitaMala

Tue Jun 16, 2009 at 10:29:22 AM EDT

Cross-posted from VivirLatino

I think I have had to write this over and over many times, every time there is a hate crime against a Latino pero it is worthy of repeating.

Defining what makes a hate crime is a political act. The reason I write this is that I am reading many media reports and blogs that keep referring to the shooting at the Holocaust Museum as a hate crime but not that many referring to the murders of Brisenia Flores and her father as a hate crime. On a legislative level, states each have their own hate crime statutes that aren't consistent with each other so what may be a hate crime in one state may not be in another. Often the definition of a hate crime is hinged on the use of an epithet or slur, not the history of the community where it happened. This is why some advocates have been pushing for Federal hate crimes legislation, that would create one standard that would be followed across state lines and these moves make people feel good, offer a sense of protection, except they are only good once there is a victim.

U.S. Reps. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY), Steve Israel (D-NY) and José E. Serrano (D-NY) announced the introduction of the National Hate Crimes Hotline Act of 2009. "Far too many victims silently bear the burden of the crimes committed against them, which is why we are taking steps to provide a place for them to be heard. A National Hate Crimes Hotline would allow New Yorkers and victims across the country to safely report to the police and find vital assistance. In addition, accurate reporting will improve local responsiveness, increase prevention efforts and help bring an end to these heinous acts," said Rep. Velázquez.

New PEW Report Provides SHOCKING Link between Racial Profiling and Latino Federal Prison Sentences!

by: dee321

Thu Feb 19, 2009 at 22:09:22 PM EST

The study, which relied on data from U.S. Sentencing Commission statistics, analyzed the ethnic makeup and citizenship status of offenders sentenced in federal courts in the U.S. from 1991 to 2007.  

DOJ Investigates Hate Crimes Against Latinos

by: Steven D

Wed Jan 14, 2009 at 17:32:13 PM EST

When is a hate crime not a hate crime?  Apparently when you are a Latino or Latina living in Suffolk County, Long Island.  But that may be about to change.  In the last days of the Bush administration suddenly the Department of Justice has decided to investigate the under-reporting of hate crimes against Latinos there, including what role local police played in actively ignoring such crimes.

(cont.)

ACTION: Candlelight Vigil to Remember Marcello Lucero

by: rachelfirm

Thu Nov 13, 2008 at 12:41:07 PM EST

Date: November 14th, 7pm

Place: Railroad Ave and Sephton Street, Patchogue, NY

A candlelight vigil will be held to speak out against hate crimes against immigrants in Suffolk County, in particular, the murder of Marcello Lucero, an immigrant from Ecuador. The perpetrators clearly stated according to news accounts that they were planning to "find some Mexicans." This vicious hate crime is only the latest in a long series of crimes targeting Latinos in Suffolk County.

The Sleeping Giant is Awake and Bleeding

by: nezua

Wed Nov 12, 2008 at 14:30:25 PM EST

The Clotty Red Stopper should not be yanked from its bottle so casually, as both Sarah Palin and John McCain ought to know by now. Demons claw at the cork all night. They gain legs in the silences left by the Left and are called forth from many foaming mouths on the Right.

Marcello Lucero was killed late Saturday night near the commuter railroad station in Patchogue, N.Y., a middle-class village in central Long Island. He was beaten and stabbed. The friend who crouched beside him in a parking lot as he lay dying, soaked in blood, said Mr. Lucero, who was 37, had come to the United States 16 years ago from Ecuador.

The police arrested seven teenage boys, who they said had driven into the village from out of town looking for Latinos to beat up. The police said the mob cornered Mr. Lucero and another man, who escaped and later identified the suspects to the police. A prosecutor at the arraignment on Monday quoted the young men as having said: "Let's go find some Mexicans."

-A Death in Patchogue

Hate doesn't happen in a vacuum

by: Duke Reed

Mon Nov 10, 2008 at 21:57:55 PM EST

Under the leadership of its County Executive, the county has enacted some of the toughest anti-immigrant laws in the nation, making its chief executive, Steve Levy, a national spokesman for the restrictionist cause. .... and his county a hotbed of anti-immigrant hate.

They told police they wanted to beat up someone who looked Hispanic.

That was the motive, police said, that a mob of seven young men had in mind when they attacked a Patchogue man, who ended up being stabbed to death minutes before midnight Saturday, Suffolk police said.

"These individuals told detectives that they were looking to beat someone of Latino heritage," said Det. Lt Jack Fitzpatrick, commander of the homicide squad, adding that the victim, Marcello Lucero, 37, is of Ecuadorian descent.

Fitzpatrick said the seven suspects drove around Patchogue searching for victims and found Lucero and another Ecuadorian man.

Cops: Fatal stabbing of Patchogue man a hate crime - Newsday

Hate Speech, Vandalism, and Death Threats Have No Place in Immigration Debate or the Election

by: kesquivel@nclr.org

Wed Oct 29, 2008 at 11:48:19 AM EDT

NCLR launched http://www.WeCanStoptheHate.org to address the surge of hate and violence infecting the immigration debate, but this is not the only place where hate is showing up these days.  Extremists are now bringing hate into the voter debate and the portrayal of people of color.  Most recently, the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now (ACORN) was bombarded with malicious emails, voicemails, and death threats, and transgressors vandalized their Boston and Seattle offices.

The Emails:

Email #1:

"_____ is going to have her life ended."

Email #2:

"You blue gums are not going to steal the election.  All of you porch monkeys need to go back to Africa."