Metro Crash Victim’s Family Getting Anti-Immigrant Hate Calls

America's Voice Blog

Posted 06/25/09 at 03:18pm

calls More disturbing profiles in extremism this week.

After a mother of six died in Monday's tragic Metro crash, a group of what appear to be anti-immigrant activists are calling up Ana Fernandez' family and asking for the family's papers. Their justification? Apparently "Fernandez" sounds "illegal."

DCists' Sommer Mathis reports in "People are Animals:"

Well this is the most disturbing thing I've run across today, and I watched that entire Mark Sanford press conference debacle. WTOP reports that the family of Ana Fernandez, one of the victims of Monday's fatal Metro crash, has been getting hate-filled phone calls from people questioning whether she and her family are legal immigrants. No one has ever questioned Fernandez's immigration status, and a family member has already told the media that all six of her now motherless children were born in the United States and full U.S. citizens, but still, the sort of people who watch Lou Dobbs are calling their home and harassing them, just because their last name is Hispanic. Here's hoping the people making those calls never have to deal with a terrible family tragedy. Jackals.

Feministe blogger Jill quipps, in Right-Wing Hate Apparently Knows No Bounds, "'Jackals' is a nicer word than I would have used."

Via WTOP:

Ana's oldest daughter, Evelyn, says her mom was a helpful person who "loved going to church" and "singing."

"She taught us respect."

Our hearts go out to all of the victims of Monday's crash, including Fernandez' family.

This kind of extremism, as NBC Washington points out, does nothing to advance the immigration debate:

They should know that this is not going to win their side much sympathy on Capitol Hill, if it ever considers immigration reform again.

By the way, they're legal.

Members of Congress are meeting at the White House today, in fact, to chart a way forward on immigration. Hopefully that path includes denouncing extremism like this.