Stand with El Paso in Tucson: 'Never Again, No More Hatred!'

    Yamileth Lopez sits while holding a photo of her deceased friend Javier Amir Rodriguez at a makeshift memorial for victims outside Walmart on Aug. 6, 2019 in El Paso, Texas. Mario Tama/Getty Images/CNN

Tucson, Arizona

Statement from #ElPasoFirme community organizations:

Today across the country, thousands of hearts beat with El Paso: A community that straddles borders and cultures, a symbol of safety and inclusion for people from around the world, citizens and non-citizens alike.


That is El Paso’s strength. Nothing will change that. Today, we must reaffirm our commitment to that strength. And we must redouble our commitment to defeat the vile worldview of white supremacy.

From Pasadena to Parkland, Tucson to Philadelphia, thousands of hearts beat with El Paso. But it has to be said. What happened here was foreseeable and deliberate. Two tendencies have intersected that invariably will lead to this despicable violence. The uncontrolled access to weapons of war that has enabled mass atrocities in cities over and over again, has converged with the racist white supremacist political agenda that we see at every Trump rally, that we hear in every Trump speech.

Sadly, too many local, state, and federal elected officials have remained silent, and worse, have served as conduit to this worldview. The hate-filled speeches that incite violence, the criminalizing of entire families and communities, and the scandalous collusion of elected officials with hate groups – enough is enough.

We know that those who profit from weapons sales, who despise gun control, are often the same profiteers that make millions from arresting immigrants and putting children and families in migrant concentration camps. They profit from the politics of hate and fear. Their objective is fear. They want white people to fear immigrants. For immigrants to fear government.

We must be clear, we do not hate them, but we are also not afraid. We know that our courage will always be greater than fear. It’s time that we join our voices to confront the sickening worldview that shows contempt for our lives, and profits from our suffering. This is the resistance of our communities, across this country, against white supremacy, against unfettered access to weapons of war, against the Trump hate agenda, against a worldview that sows misery and contempt for human life. This is a fight for safety, true freedom, and justice for every life that has been lost at the hands of hate in America.

#ElPasoFirme is anchored by Border Network for Human Rights (BNHR), RAICES, and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), Reform Immigration for Texas Alliance, Repairers of the Breach, Poor People’s Campaign, and is endorsed by a broad array of faith, immigrant, civil rights, and grassroots organizations.