One year after the El Paso Massacre and the ICE raids in Mississippi
PHOTO: USGOV.
The following is a joint message with our partners in Mississippi and El Paso.
One year ago, on August 3 and August 9, our communities in El Paso, Texas, and across Mississippi were targeted by white nationalist violence. The tragic and unacceptable toll of racism and xenophobia took away lives and dreams for a better future alike.
Today, the impact of those attacks remains, but we are still here. We are still standing. And we are still fighting the racism and exclusion behind those attacks that are impossible to forget.
The first week of August, we remembered and reflected on what happened one year ago. It’s a moment to send a message in defiance against white nationalism, its tools and enablers, and make a call to action to exercise and strengthen our collective compassion and resistance.
On August 3, we joined communities in El Paso to remember those lost and also lift our voices against white supremacy, racial oppression, systemic discrimination, and the hate culture that has been openly promoted from government and influential institutions in power. That day, the Border Network for Human Rights along with other partner organizations and allies, led the event El Paso Firme Anniversary and Memorial.
This rally will continue denouncing the exclusion and injustices against immigrants, and will also rebuild the memorial for 23 loved ones that were killed by a white supremacist in an act of domestic terrorism that echoed Trump’s racism against Mexican immigrants.
On August 7, in a day of action, we stood with the hundreds of immigrant and indigenous families targeted by ICE raids because workers spoke out about workplace abuse. We followed the lead of communities across Mississippi that held vigils to reaffirm the fight of immigrant workers to liberate their families from ICE prison camps, to dismantle the infrastructure of hate, and to demand action to prevent this from happening again. Across the country, and along with the Immigrant Alliance for Justice & Equity, we echoed that call to action and lift up the demands of immigrant workers.
Today, the nation obviously continues to struggle in addressing the many manifestations of the racist movement behind those attacks. We must learn the lessons from each attack, improve our defenses, and demand action against this white nationalist violence.
In solidarity and action,
Lorena Quiroz, Immigrant Alliance for Justice & Equity of Mississippi (IAJE)
Fernando García, Executive Director, Border Network for Human Rights (BNHR)
Salvador G. Sarmiento, National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON)
