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Immigrant New Yorkers Denounce Anti-Immigrant Republican State Senate Campaign Materials

Across several contested State Senate races on Long Island, Republican campaigns are scapegoating immigrants in their print and digital communications

Long Island, New York (10/27/2016)—Two weeks before Election Day, immigrant New Yorkers are expressing deep offense with anti-immigrant campaign materials being sent out by the Republican State Committee in key State Senate campaigns. The literature, which uses the insulting terminology of “illegal immigrant” and wrongly blames immigrants for being a drain on tax coffers, suggests the embrace of the politics of Donald Trump—who has made scapegoating immigrants the centerpiece of his campaign since last June—by New York’s Republican Party. The anti-immigrant materials have appeared in campaign advertisements for Republican State Senate candidates Carl Marcellino, Kemp Hannon, Chris McGrath, and more.

Immigrant New Yorkers and community leaders expressed outreach with the anti-immigrant campaign literature:

Andrea Delgado, Long Island resident and member of Make the Road Action, said: “I feel sad to see these anti-immigrant lies. Immigrants pay taxes and help drive our state’s economy, and this hateful rhetoric should have no place in our state. Here on Long Island, we’ve seen people sow seeds of hate before, with devastating consequences, including the hate murder of Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero in 2008.”

Javier H. Valdés, Co-Executive Director of Make the Road Action, asserted: “This anti-immigrant literature is an affront to our communities and a clear case of New York Republican Senate campaigns following the Trump playbook—spreading lies and using offensive language to drum up votes rooted in intolerance. Latino and immigrant New Yorkers see that the state’s Republican Party is embracing Donald Trump’s hateful rhetoric and politics, and we will hold these candidates accountable on November 8th.”

32BJ President Hector Figueroa said: “It is shameful to see politically motivated attacks against hard-working immigrant young people who just want to further their education so they can contribute to their communities and our state. That’s why our members are fighting hard to elect progressive members of the State Senate who will stand up for working families, young people and immigrants in New York.”

Ari Kamen, Political Director of New York Working Families, stated: “Chairman Cox and the State’s Republicans should be ashamed of themselves. In a desperate ploy to prop up weak incumbents like Carl Marcellino and Kemp Hannon and hold the Senate Majority, the GOP is cynically sparking intolerance and division. Working families on Long Island and throughout New York will not be fooled, and they will join their Latino and immigrant brothers and sisters to deliver a progressive Senate majority on November 8th.”

In 2016, State Republican Chairman Ed Cox and prominent party leaders like Nassau Chairman Joe Mondello, Suffolk Chairman John Jay LaValle, and Congressman Lee Zeldin embraced Donald Trump and have refused to disavow him following recent scandals and racist episodes. Long Island Republican State Senate candidates, too, have refused to reject Mr. Trump’s offensive rhetoric and proposals, and now their campaign materials reveal just how aligned they are.