Racist murders and the right wing
ON FEBRUARY 14, an Arizona jury found Shawna Forde guilty of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and several other charges for the brutal slayings of Raul Flores and his 9-year old daughter Brisenia.
In May 2009, Forde and two accomplices, Jason Bush and Albert Gaxiola, raided the Flores home in Arivaca, Ariz. Their intent was to steal drugs and cash, because they believed the Floreses were drug dealers. Shawna and her accomplices wanted to use the drugs and money to fund the vigilante anti-immigrant group, the Minutemen American Defense (MAD). When no drugs were found at the home, the three went on a rampage, attempting to kill the Flores family.
Not only does Shawna Forde have a history of violent crime, but she also has a long history of involvement with anti-immigrant groups. Before becoming the founder and executive of the MAD, Forde was a member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps and a spokesperson for the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR).
Forde's partner in crime, Jason Bush, is MAD's national director of operations and has ties to white supremacist groups including the Aryan Nation. In addition to the murders in Arizona, Bush currently has several other murder charges filed against him. Recently, he was charged with the stabbing death of Hector Lopez Partida, a homeless man, as he slept on the street at night.
It should be no surprise that these senseless deaths occurred in Arizona, a state that has become synonymous with anti-immigrant hatred. From the passage of hate-filled SB 1070 (requiring documentation for all immigrants), HB 2281 (banning ethnic studies programs), politicians in Arizona have made immigrants the target. Eighteen other states are now considering laws similar to SB 1070.
Politicians in Arizona and across the country have whipped up racist anti-immigrant hysteria, claiming that all Americans should be against immigration. They resort to racist stereotypes like Muslim immigrants "want to take over America," and Mexican immigrants are "violent drug-dealing gangsters."
It's only natural that those on the extreme right, like the MAD, see this as the opportune time to unleash violence on immigrants. Unfortunately, if nothing is done, the attacks on immigrants, their communities and their places of worship will continue to escalate.
That is why we need to stand up and fight against the racist anti-immigrant climate. From demanding justice for immigrant victims of hate crimes, to defending the right to build mosques, we must fight racism wherever it rears its ugly head.
Gimena Gordillo, New Orleans
