America's Voice Blog

Posted 09/04/09 at 12:50pm By Jackie Mahendra

VIDEO: Long Island “Climate of Fear” Report Reactions, Editorial Asks Justice Dept. to Intevene

A new report entitled "Climate of Fear," released this week by the Southern Poverty Law Center, has exposed something ugly lying just beneath the surface of American politics and American life. The report highlights how Latino immigrants in Suffolk County, have become frequent victims of violence and racial intimidation-- in large part due to an explosive, sustained anti-immigrant politics in the area.

Ted Hesson of Long Island Wins caught up with local immigrant advocates and some of the people involved with creating the report after the press conference, and asked them what they thought about the findings. Watch all of their responses on where the county should go over at Ted's blog.

Here is one, from Henry Fernandez, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and a contributing editor for the report:

In New York, some are calling for the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) to intervene. Check out a recent Editorial in La Opinion, "Justice Department must intervene in Suffolk," which lays much of the blame for this "climate of fear" at the feet of Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy.

Under the leadership of Steve Levy, Suffolk County has failed to take urgent steps to protect immigrants living in constant fear of violence. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) must act aggressively to end a cycle of vicious, hate-fueled beatings of Latino immigrants.

[...] Last year, Marcelo Lucero was murdered by one of a gang of young thugs who encircled him. Just a little over two weeks ago, yet another Latino immigrant was brutally beaten in an alleged act of hate.

Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy has done little to discourage nativist intolerance or prevent hate attacks. In fact, he has thrown coals into the fire. Levy was defensive after Lucero’s death, in denial of how his own actions have cultivated an atmosphere of hate. Before that, he once encouraged racial profiling by police. And instead of listening to long expressed concerns about hate crimes, Levy has been regularly combative with immigrant rights’ advocates and ridiculed them as the lunatic fringe.

Posted 09/03/09 at 08:50am By Jackie Mahendra

VIDEO (NBC): Report on Climate of Fear in Long Island, NY, Amidst News of Another Hate Crime

Yesterday, amidst horror over yet another hate crime in Long Island, the Southern Poverty Law Center released a new report entitled,"Climate of Fear: Latino Immigrants in Suffolk County, N.Y."

In "Southern Poverty Law Center Report Tells What Latinos in Suffolk County Know and Live," Maegan of Vivir Latino writes:

...off the Long Island Expressway, those with Spanish last names live in fear of losing their lives.

The report-- and the reality it highlights-- is disturbing, to say the least.

NBC Nightly News covers it, noting that hate crimes against Hispanics rose 40% between 2003 and 2007, according to FBI statistics-- that this is not an isolated occurence in Long Island. In this video clip, every Latino man who is being interviewed has been the victim of discrimination.

Watch it:

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Newsday highlights the role of anti-immigrant local politics and politicians behind this disturbing trend of violence in Long Island. They report:

The Southern Poverty Law Center charges that County Executive Steve Levy has engaged in "verbal immigrant-bashing" since taking office in 2003 and fueled hatred by proposing county cops "be empowered to detain Latinos solely on suspicion of being undocumented immigrants."

In "Hate report shines spotlight on Suffolk's Levy," Newsday's Dan Janison reports on the potential political consequences for Levy:

Given a national Internet and media audience, the new SPLC report reinforces familiar criticisms of Levy, from foes and even some fans, that he can be tone-deaf or worse.

Politically, this report might pose no threat to him in Suffolk. It does mean more people outside the county will hear Levy's name, in a negative light, for the first time.

And politically, it is a flip side to the praise that Levy has won in nationally broadcast commentaries calling for crackdowns on illegal immigration.

Indeed, Levy is the subject of an entire section of the SPLC webpage announcing the report, entitled, "The Enabler." 

Here are all of the resources that the Southern Poverty Law Center has released-- together, they paint an explosive picture of a community in flux, of racial tensions that must be managed and counterbalanced by a rational discussion about immigration. The consequences of not doing so, as we've seen so concretely with the murder of Marcelo Lucero in Suffolk County, are enormous:

Latinos in Suffolk County
Climate of Fear
Law enforcement officials and politicians contribute to atmosphere of hate

Fueling the Fire
Sachem Quality of Life helped poison local attitudes toward immigrants

Voices from the Shadows
Latino immigrants speak out about their lives

The Enabler
Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy is no friend of immigrants

Timeline
A decade of race violence in Suffolk County

Download the report (PDF)

Long Island Wins has a roundup of the ongoing media coverage:

Click here to read more.