We didn’t come here to cause harm

Vidya Sethuraman
India Post News Service

In any election season, messages of hatred toward immigrants appear, causing many difficulties for minority communities. So, Ethnic Minority Media Services (EMS) hosted a conference on Friday, August 2, to talk about the history of anti-immigrant hate in the United States and the contributions of immigrant communities throughout history.

US officials from former President Donald Trump to many candidates have called immigrants criminals, mentally ill and called them “trash.” Those political messages of hate have many consequences such as creating tension between ethnic groups, and spreading fear, anger and pain among immigrant communities, including those who working in agriculture helps Americans have food every day.

Manuel Ortiz Escámez, Sociologist, Audio-Visual Journalist, and Co-Founder Peninsula 360, Redwood City, CA said immigrants played an extremely important role in US history, but were discriminated against because of their many differences.

These communities always have to stand in the midst of a contradiction: they are considered a cheap human resource and are discriminated against. In US history, immigrants have made many contributions, such as the Chinese building the railway system and now many Latino immigrants are farming in California, helping many Americans have food every day.

The experts said that immigrant communities do not have destructive thoughts; always work hard and everyone can see that.  They also pay taxes like Americans, obey the law and always find ways to help the community.

Arcenio Lopez, Executive Director, Mixtec Indigenous Community Organizing Project, Ventura, Ca said Latinos just migrate from one place to another. They are not immigrants from another continent, but people born in the Americas, and borders are created for the purpose of division. He said immigrants have made many contributions to the development of the United States, but are discriminated against just because they look different, think differently and speak English with a different accent.

Gustavo Gasca Gomez, Coordinator-Stop the Hate Project and Immigration Outreach Specialist with Education and Leadership Foundation said the state’s CA vs Hate program wants to give a voice to immigrant communities. According to him, hate affects every immigrant community, and many people in farming express concern about the issue, not knowing what will happen in the future.

All three speakers emphasized that during the election season, there are always messages that discriminate against immigrants, so protecting those communities is very important, such as making policies or having activities in the community to help them.

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