A Message From Presente.org

I recently received the following email from Presente.org in reference to the horrible crime against Brisenia Flores and her father Raul Flores. I absolutely abhor this heinous act and remind everyone that it is an act against ALL, not just one group. It only takes a moment of your time to sign in and take a stand......

Nine-year-old Brisenia Flores was sleeping soundly in her bed in Arivaca, Arizona when she was shot and killed in cold blood.

It was no random act of violence(1). Shawna Forde, the suspected mastermind of the home invasion robbery in which Brisenia and her father Raul were killed, leads the vigilante group Minutemen American Defense and has been tied to the national Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)(2). Both groups have been labeled as "hate groups" by the Southern Poverty Law Center and have a long record of dehumanizing immigrants and vilifying Latinos.

The problem is bigger than FAIR or any other group. Some members of Congress have been legitimizing these organizations for years—inviting them to testify as “experts”—while their rhetoric gives rise to violence against Latinos, like the killing of Brisenia and Raul Flores(3) That needs to end now.

Please join us in demanding that Congress renounce FAIR, the Minutemen, and all other anti-immigrant hate groups, and ask your friends and family to do the same.

It's time for Congress to stop legitimizing hate groups

FAIR and the Minutemen groups are regularly quoted in the mainstream media—FAIR more than 500 times in 2008—giving them a megaphone to broadcast their hateful rhetoric: like FAIR executive director Dan Stein’s claim that “illegal aliens are more prone to criminal activity than the rest of the population,” or Minutemen co-founder Jim Gilchrist’s assertion that it is “okay to say ‘rapist,’ ‘robber’ and ‘murderer’” when describing “illegal aliens.(4).
As vile as their words are, even more disturbing is when our elected representatives applaud their efforts and parrot their messages. Take Ranking Republican Congressman on the House Immigration Sub-Committee, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), a long-time friend of extremist groups, who wrote that a day without immigrants in America would mean “the lives of 12 U.S. citizens would be saved who otherwise die a violent death at the hands of murderous illegal aliens each day.” Those debunked claims were then repeated hundreds of times by FAIR and others, creating an echo chamber of racism and hate(5).
Or take Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama), the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, who has likened immigrants to terrorists and child molesters, and has taken money from a group with white-supremacist ties(6).
Elected leaders like these, together with their allies in extremist anti-immigrant groups, create a climate of hatred that leads to violence – as evidenced by the recent string of hate-motivated killings across the country(7).
Enough is enough. Together, we can hold members of Congress accountable by demanding they stop legitimizing FAIR and the Minutemen. Please join us in doing so. It takes only a moment: http://presente.org/campaigns/flores?populate=1

Thank you and Adelante

- The Presente.org Team

References

1. “Home invasion suspects tied to border group,” News4, 6-15-2009

2. "Minuteman 'tactical' leader/murder suspect Shawna Forde was part of the 'respectable' nativist Right too," Crooks and Liars, 6-16-2008

3. “The Nativist Lobby,” Southern Poverty Law Center, February 2009

4. “Immigration: Getting the Facts Straight,” Southern Poverty Law Center, 5-08-2007

5. “Rep. Steve King: Carrying the banner for anti-immigrant extremists,” America’s Voice Online, 2008

6. “Sessions Called Incendiary On Immigration, Linked To White Nationalist: Report,” Huffington Post, 5-07-2009

7. “The Obama Haters’ Silent Enablers,” New York Times, 6-13-2009

Please take a moment to let your voice be heard and spread the word.