• About
  • Join/Donate
  • Contact
Saturday, May 28, 2022
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
The Brief
NB MEDIA CO-OP
Share a story
  • New Brunswick
  • Canada
  • World
  • Environment
  • Indigenous
  • Labour
  • Gender
  • Politics
  • Culture
  • Videos
  • NB debrief
  • Articles en français
  • New Brunswick
  • Canada
  • World
  • Environment
  • Indigenous
  • Labour
  • Gender
  • Politics
  • Culture
  • Videos
  • NB debrief
  • Articles en français
No Result
View All Result
NB MEDIA CO-OP
No Result
View All Result
Home *Opinion*

Lessons from El Paso: Racist attack highlights the urgency of standing up to divisive politics

by Stacey Gomez
September 7, 2019
Reading Time: 2min read
Lessons from El Paso: Racist attack highlights the urgency of standing up to divisive politics

Stacey Gomez is a migrant justice organizer with No One Is Illegal - Halifax/K’jipuktuk and active in the Latin American solidarity movement. Photo submitted.

Since last month’s mass shooting in El Paso, Latinxs throughout the US say they no longer feel safe. The shooting, which killed 22 people and injured another 24, was driven by racism and xenophobia against the Latinx community. The shooting speaks to a troubling resurgence of white supremacist violence in the US, fueled by Trump. In Canada, we need to be on high alert as well, particularly as elections draw near.

Trump’s hateful rhetoric and policies have long targeted Latin American immigrants and asylum-seekers. His constant vilification of this community has been used to justify violent and dehumanizing policies. This includes massive raids against undocumented workers and the separation of Central American refugee families, as well as their detainment in modern-day concentration camps. These are precursors to the El Paso massacre. How does Trudeau compare?

Despite his Liberal rhetoric of multiculturalism, Trudeau has sought to win political points by ushering in a number of anti-immigrant reforms, which disproportionately impact racialized people. This has included raising the deportation target to 10,000 people per year, an increase of up to 35 percent. Trudeau also appointed the country’s first Minister of “Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction,” associating migration with criminality.

Not surprisingly, the Liberal party has maintained near-silence amid the escalating situation in the US. Moreover, Trudeau has ignored calls by the UN to step up resettlement of the most vulnerable Central American refugees while moving to tighten the Canada-US border.

What happened in El Paso highlights the urgency of recognizing and rooting out racism and xenophobia on all fronts, including political discourse and state policies, be they from someone like Trump or Trudeau.

Indeed, we’ve seen the deadly consequences of far-right, racist and xenophobic violence with the 2017 Quebec mosque shooting.

As campaigning for the federal elections kicks off, Canadians must remain vigilant and speak out against divisive politics aimed at garnering votes. The pressure from Haligonians and Canadians that led to the removal of xenophobic billboards supporting Maxime Bernier is a prime example of the power in collective action.

In the lead up to the election, we call upon community members to take the Migrant Rights Network pledge to not let politicians use racism to divide us.

One month on, the community of El Paso is on the mend. This weekend a solidarity event in Halifax aimed at honouring the victims and raising our voices against white supremacy, as well as xenophobia in the US and here at home, will take place.

Stacey Gomez is a migrant justice organizer with No One Is Illegal – Halifax/K’jipuktuk and active in the Latin American solidarity movement.

Tags: CanadaEl Pasoimmigrationmigrantmigrant justiceracismsliderStacey GomezTrumpUS
ShareTweetSend

Related Posts

News media ignore tragedies, exploitation in Canadian-owned mines
Canada

News media ignore tragedies, exploitation in Canadian-owned mines

May 16, 2022

Editor's note: Following the publication of this article, reports emerged that no survivors were found in an underground refuge chamber...

New Brunswick public sector pension plans have shares in world’s largest weapons manufacturer
Canada

Anthony Fenton on Canada and the Saudi-UAE war on Yemen [video]

May 15, 2022

Tertulias Fredericton presented a talk by Anthony Fenton on Canada and the Saudi-UAE war on Yemen on May 11, 2022....

Au Nouveau-Brunswick, les luttes des immigrant.e.s et des personnes en zones rurales sont étroitement liées — malgré ce que prétendent les journaux Irving
Articles en français

Au Nouveau-Brunswick, les luttes des immigrant.e.s et des personnes en zones rurales sont étroitement liées — malgré ce que prétendent les journaux Irving

February 26, 2022

Les journaux Irving veulent que les habitant.e.s en milieu rural tiennent pour responsable leurs voisins nouveaux arrivants pour leurs défis...

An open letter to the Freedom Convoy: You are not revolutionaries
Canada

An open letter to the Freedom Convoy: You are not revolutionaries

February 24, 2022

On January 6, 2021, just over 2,000 working-class Americans took to the United States Capitol to protest. Convinced that Donald...

Load More

Recommended

New Brunswick’s forgotten forests, global treasures that need our help

New Brunswick’s forgotten forests, global treasures that need our help

2 days ago
What Rolling Thunder and the Freedom Convoy tell us about the Canadian working class

What Rolling Thunder and the Freedom Convoy tell us about the Canadian working class

2 days ago
Opposition Day: No electoral reform for New Brunswick

Opposition Day: No electoral reform for New Brunswick

5 days ago
NB Media Co-op

© 2019 NB Media Co-op. All rights reserved.

Navigate Site

  • About
  • Join/Donate
  • Contact
  • Share a Story
  • Calendar
  • Archives

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • About
  • Join/Donate
  • Contact
  • Share a Story
  • COVID-19
  • Videos
  • New Brunswick
  • Canada
  • World
  • Arts & Culture
  • Environment
  • Indigenous
  • Labour
  • Politics
  • Rural

© 2019 NB Media Co-op. All rights reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In