Hate Crimes Increase

Floor Speech

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Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, in my community and in communities across this Nation, we have seen in the past year a dramatic increase in hate crimes and attacks against immigrants and, generally, against people of color.

In New York City, we saw how a lawyer named Aaron Schlossberg launched a racial verbal attack against workers at the Fresh Kitchen restaurant in Midtown Manhattan simply because they spoke Spanish.

Think about that for a minute, Mr. Speaker. This was in New York City, a city that prides itself on being a city of immigrants, a city which touts the presence of Lady Liberty herself on the harbor. Still, this lawyer felt compelled--without any hesitation, shame, or guilt--to confront workers at the Fresh Kitchen restaurant, verbally assaulting them simply because they spoke Spanish.

Yet we keep seeing more and more examples of aggressors and harassers launching vicious attacks and directing hate speech toward those whom they wrongfully perceive to be un-American.

In another recent incident, Rodolfo Rodriguez, a senior citizen, 91 years old, was brutally attacked for his ethnic background. He is of Mexican descent. He was told to go back to his country before being brutally assaulted with a brick.

In another recent incident at the Caldwell Woods Forest Preserve, Ms. Mia Irizarry was another victim of verbal harassment, abuse, and physical intimidation in an almost unthinkable 20-minute racial rant. Her harasser caught sight of Ms. Irizarry's shirt, patterned with a Puerto Rican flag such as this one, and proceeded to verbally assault her simply for the sighting of a proud American wearing a flag that represents 3.5 million American citizens on the island of Puerto Rico and several million more here in the United States.

The perpetrator said: If you are an American citizen, you should not be wearing that shirt in America.

Let me remind him that Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, that they have a long and distinguished tradition of defending freedom and democracy for our Nation across the world. They have spilled the blood of thousands in support of America and democracy.

Each of these instances and situations come on the heels of a 2017 California report, the first published since President Trump took office, indicating a 17 percent increase in hate crimes. Specifically, anti-Latino, anti-Hispanic hate crimes have soared, with increases of more than 50 percent last year.

Mr. Speaker, according to a Quinnipiac poll, 58 percent of Americans disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling immigration, and 55 percent of Americans say that the President has made it easier for racists to share their views publicly.

Like Attorney Schlossberg in New York City, like Jones in Los Angeles and Timothy Trybus in Illinois, we find aggressors and perpetrators who do not represent our values as a nation of immigrants.

The problem we have is that these individuals have seen our leaders in elected office participate in hateful and intolerant acts with hateful and intolerant words. Whether in New York City, Los Angeles, or Cook County, we have seen naked racism and blatant bigotry.

To these bigots I say this:

(English translation of the statement made in Spanish is as follows:)

The United States is for all of us--regardless of the color of our skin or the language we speak.

Los Estados Unidos es para todos--independientemente del color de la piel o el idioma hablado.

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