Violent Anti-Immigrant Climate in Suffolk County

Southern Poverty Law Center to Release Report Documenting Violent Anti-Immigrant Climate in Suffolk County, N.Y.

Report to be Released Wednesday, Sept. 2

On Wednesday, Sept. 2, in Hauppauge, N.Y., the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) will release a report showing that Latino immigrants in Suffolk County, N.Y., are routinely the target of violent attacks, harassment and abuse driven by a virulent anti-immigrant climate that spans a decade.

Ten months ago, the country was shocked by the brutal murder of Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero, who was beaten and stabbed by a group of teenagers who were out “beaner-jumping” on the streets of Patchogue. This new report – Climate of Fear: Latino Immigrants in Suffolk County, N.Y. – documents numerous other hate crimes against Latinos in the community and describes a volatile, anti-immigrant environment fostered by some community leaders. SPLC researchers spent months on the ground interviewing Latino immigrants, local religious leaders and small business owners for the report. They found a pervasive climate of fear in the Latino community.

WHO: Mark Potok, Director, SPLC Intelligence Project   
    Henry Fernandez, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
    Phil Ramos, New York State Assemblyman
    Anthony Miranda, Executive Chairman, National Latino Officers Association of America   
    Sister Margaret Smyth, North Fork Spanish Apostolate
   
WHAT:   News conference to discuss new report – Climate of Fear: Latino Immigrants in Suffolk County, N.Y.

WHEN:   10:30 a.m. ET, Wednesday, Sept. 2

WHERE:    H. Lee Dennison Building, Media Room
    100 Veterans Memorial Highway
    Hauppauge, NY  

For an embargoed copy of the report, please contact Booth Gunter at (334) 956-8354 booth.gunter@splcenter.org   
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