Tag: Marcelo Lucero murder

Immigrant Leaders on Long Island Relieved at Guilty Verdict in Lucero Case

There had been concern that a predominantly white jury might free 19-year old Jeffrey Conroy in the hate crime that took the life of Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero.

Report: Suffolk County Bred "Climate of Fear" for Latino Immigrants Over the Last Decade

Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy first reaction to the killing of Marcelo Lucero was to minimize it, the report says. (Photo: Suffolk County)

County Executive Steve Levy's first reaction to the killing of Marcelo Lucero was to minimize it, the report says. (Photo: Suffolk County)

(*Post updated below.)

Suffolk County, N.Y., the suburban Long Island area where a gang of teenagers — most of them white — are accused of killing Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero last November, is described as a veritable hell for Latino immigrants in a new report to be released Wednesday by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The civil rights organization sent a Spanish-speaking researcher to Suffolk County to interview over 70 Latino immigrants, plus local activists, small business owners and religious leaders. The picture that emerges in “Climate of Fear: Latino Immigrants in Suffolk County, N.Y.” is a disturbing one where some residents –especially white youngsters– assault or heckle immigrants on a regular basis; immigrants’ homes are the targets of attacks; police do nothing about the attacks while they harass Latinos over minor traffic violations or for standing on the street; and public officials fan the flames with over-the-top racism-tinged rhetoric.

This has been going on for about a decade, the report says.

(You can download the report at the SPLC site.)

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