03 AUG 2022

Immigration Hub on Third Anniversary of the El Paso Shooting

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, Sergio Gonzales, Executive Director of the Immigration Hub, issued the following statement on the third anniversary of the mass shooting at the Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso, Texas:

“Three years ago, our nation was devastated by a targeted, hate-fueled act of violence that stole the lives of 23 innocent people in El Paso in what became the deadliest anti-Latino attack in modern U.S history. As we mourn with the community of El Paso and honor the victims and survivors, we also come to the somber realization that the extreme, hateful, anti-immigrant and anti-Latino rhetoric that fueled this senseless act of violence is now fully embraced by today’s Republican Party. 

“From the moment Donald Trump launched his presidential campaign by slandering Mexican immigrants and questioning the ability of a Latino federal judge based on his race, we have witnessed a dramatic rise in white supremacist and bigoted ideologies. The words “invasion” and “Great Replacement theory” are now openly touted by Republican members of Congress, GOP candidates, and right-wing media who deliberately distort truths and spread far-right conspiracy theories that put bad actors on a pathway to violence. It’s shocking that the same hateful language that inspired the shooters in El Paso, Dayton, and Buffalo is being echoed by Republicans, from the halls of Congress to the campaign trail. Rather than focusing on needed solutions to address gun violence such as the recent shooting in Uvalde, Texas Governor Greg Abbott spends every week fanning the flames of division through an almost obsessive focus on attacking immigrants. 

“Today, we take a moment to admire the incredible resilience that El Pasoans have demonstrated. However, it’s not lost on us that every day, too many people have to endure the ugly reality of white supremacist hatred and its violence – and reckon with the fact that this is at stake in the upcoming election. Hate and extremism are on the ballot, and we cannot afford to remain silent and fail to hold accountable those who spread or act on racism and xenophobia. Simply put, we must stand together and firmly reject rhetoric that jeopardizes both our democratic foundations and countless more lives.”

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The Immigration Hub is a national organization dedicated to advancing fair and just immigration policies through strategic leadership, innovative communications strategies, legislative advocacy and collaborative partnerships.