Rally held for murdered Ecuadorian immigrant

A reported 1000 people attended a rally last night on Long Island to honor recently murdered Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero (image). Chanting “we are all immigrants”, those present at the vigil expressed their disgust at an increasing anti-immigrant sentiment on Suffolk County where the Latino population has boomed over the past decade.

"Many people treat us like animals, like they just want to get rid of us," said one of the demonstrators who also expressed anger at Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy’s initially dismissive response to Lucero’s death.

Meanwhile, a grand jury has indicted seven teens in connection with Lucero’s murder. Hate crime charges may be levied against the accused who police alleged were “looking to beat up anyone who looked Hispanic.” Ironically, one of the accused teens is Latino who is supposedly “distraught” over the crime according to his lawyer.

The crime has received widespread media attention who has also focused on the increasing divide over immigration like the controversy in Farmingville a few years ago. Columnist Ruben Navarrette Jr. expressed his disgust not only at Lucero’s death but at the sickeningly spiteful tone of the immigration debate:

There are things that are so horrible that human beings should never become desensitized to them. Near the top of the list: when someone is killed because of his race, ethnicity, national origin or sexual orientation. That we cannot tolerate.

Nor should we tolerate an immigration debate that turned anti-Hispanic and that some now blame for incidents such as this…

In case you're keeping score at home, Hispanic immigrants are said to be responsible for street crime, traffic congestion, global warming, underperforming schools and crowded hospitals. In fact, recently, they were blamed for the collapse on Wall Street.

Who knew? I realized that Hispanic immigrants are tireless workers who could multitask. But I had no idea that they could -- in between doing our chores -- create so much havoc and misery. Or have so much havoc and misery visited upon them.

Image- ABC News
Sources- WNYC, Gothamist, Newsday.com, CNN, PBS