Hate Crimes Toward Hispanic Immigrants - Essay Example

One day in December 2008 on his way home from a bar and church party, Jose and his brother were walking along the road with their arms around each other which is a common behavior among the Latino cultures. Suddenly three men appeared yelling in anti Hispanic slurs. While his brother managed to escape, Sucuzhanay was struck on the head by a beer bottle. He was also hit on the head with an aluminum baseball. The attackers kicked and punched him severely. Causing him severe head fractures and extensive brain damage.

A few days later Sucuzhanay passed away. When the two men were arrested they were only charged with a second-degree murder and assault. In real sense all hate crimes in America, could face 78 years to life in prison. On November 8, 2008 on Long Island in New York on, Marcelo Lucero, Ecuadorian real estate agent was thoroughly beaten and seriously wounded by seven teenagers who were driving around looking for Mexicans to attack. When the seven young men spotted Lucero, they got out of their car and man bounded him beating and stabbing him severely.

When the matter was brought before the courts, the teens were only charged with gang assault. Steve Levy, the County Executive of Suffolk constantly talked against immigrants, including on Lou Dobbs Tonight. The New York Times reported about Lucero's death and hate crimes against Latinos. But all these seemed not to attract much attention. A possible execution in a New York community should be more than enough to force the American people to acknowledge the bitter truth that has overcome Latinos in the days of rage against illegal immigration.

The situation began to change when the when republican politicians decided a few years ago to exploit immigration as a wedge issue. They formulated strict legislations to criminalize the events. Prominent personalities and radio talk show hosts latched on to the issue. Substantial efforts in congress to create an overhaul of the immigration system failed again and again. The opponents of these efforts wanted only to demonize and punish the Latino workers on which the country now appeared to depend on much.

The sudden increase in hate crimes against Hispanics for the past four years is particularly worrying since hate crimes committed against other groups has over the same period decreased drastically (Altschiller, 2005, p.101). This noxious setting, in which horrible rhetoric targets immigrants while the number of hate crimes against Hispanics and people perceived to be immigrants steadily increases, has caused a sharp sense of fear among the communities living in the united states ( Researcher, 2010,84).

Certain groups opposed to immigration reform, such as the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), and Numbers USA, have occasionally claimed that immigrants are responsible for numerous evils in the society. However they have often lacked valid and reliable evidence to support the claims. Even though these groups have tried to present themselves as lawful, advocates against illegal immigration in America, it has been revealed that these organizations have worrying relations with unlawful extremists in the anti-immigration