A political cartoon in Tuesday’s Albuquerque Journal was denounced as racist and divisive by New Mexico public officials and leading community organizations.
The cartoon shows a white couple being mugged at gunpoint by three thugs in masks as the man says “Now, honey … I believe they prefer to be called ‘Dreamers’ … or future Democrats.”
Senator Tom Udall, Senator Martin Heinrich, Congressman Ben Ray Luján, Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham, Congressman Steve Pearce and Attorney General Hector Balderas issued the following statement in response to the cartoon:
“The day after the Journal editorialized to say ‘our elected representatives in Washington should put aside some of the vitriol and make a real effort to come to agreement on an immigration reform package,’ the editors printed a cartoon that does the exact opposite.
“Instead of putting aside the vitriol, this cartoon feeds it. It plays to the most false and negative stereotype of ‘Dreamers,’ which can only serve to enrage extremists. Instead of highlighting some middle ground that could be fertile for agreement, this cartoon pushes the two sides further into their respective corners.
“Aside from the obviously racist undertones of this cartoon – coming from an artist with a history of racist cartoons – its goal is clearly to destroy an immigration compromise, not to promote one.
“It’s never the right time to refer to a group of nearly 800,000 people as criminals, especially when they are active members of our communities, including military service members, teachers, doctors, business owners and more. And now is absolutely the wrong time to print such a divisive cartoon.”
This statement was endorsed by:
New Mexico League of United Latin American Citizens - http://www.newmexicolulac.org/
Hispano Round Table of New Mexico - http://www.nmhrt.org/
New Mexico Dream Team - http://nmdreamteam.org/
New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty - http://www.nmpovertylaw.org/
New Mexico Immigrant Law Center - http://nmilc.org/
El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos - http://elcentronm.org/
Instituto Legal - http://www.institutolegal.org/
Santa Fe Dreamers Project - http://www.santafedreamersproject.org/
Somos Un Pueblo Unido - http://www.somosunpueblounido.org/
Strong Families New Mexico - https://www.facebook.com/StrongFamsNM/
