AUGUST 1, 2023
The Honorable Charles E.
Majority Leader
United States Senate
Room S-221, U.S. Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Kevin McCarthy
Speaker of the House
United States House of Representatives
Room H-232, U.S. Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20515
The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Minority Leader
United States Senate
Rooms S-230, U.S. Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Hakeem Jeffries
Minority Leader
United States House of Representatives
Room H-204, U.S. Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Majority Leader Schumer, Minority Leader McConnell, Speaker McCarthy, and Leader Jeffries:
We the undersigned organizations, urge Congressional leadership to unequivocally denounce white supremacist, anti-immigrant rhetoric and its use by Members of Congress, and encourage Members of your caucuses to refrain from using this dangerous rhetoric. As we approach the fourth anniversary of the anti-immigrant terrorist attack in El Paso, Texas, that killed 23 people on August 3rd, 2019, we are reminded of the deadly impact of this rhetoric. The perpetrator of the El Paso attack was motivated by the white supremacist “great replacement” conspiracy, which he believed was being facilitated by a “Hispanic invasion.” Four years later, this same “invasion” and “replacement” rhetoric is leveraged by Members of Congress to further political agendas related to immigration and national security. They echo white supremacist claims of a “white genocide” orchestrated by a “Jewish cabal”, who use immigrants and minority populations as pawns in a nefarious plot. This rhetoric, and its related dog whistles, dehumanize migrants and asylum seekers, posing them as an existential threat that must be met with violence.
Again and again, our country has experienced hate violence inspired by this conspiratorial rhetoric. We know this because terrorists tell us this in their screeds. Driven by fears of “replacement” and “invasion,” terrorists targeted the Latino community in El Paso, Texas, Black Americans in Buffalo, New York, and Jews in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and in Poway, California, among other communities. Despite this repeated violence across the US, Members of Congress continue to invoke the antisemitic and anti-immigrant conspiracy theories that have inspired multiple violent attacks. Members have referred to peaceful migrants and asylum seekers as “invaders” or as an “invasion” 90 times in their official capacity in hearings, on the floor, or in official press releases. Immigration and border policy are important topics that demand Congressional discussion. We implore Senate and House leadership to not only condemn references to conspiratorial and bigoted rhetoric, including references to the “great replacement” and an “invasion,” but to encourage the Members of your caucus to refrain from using such rhetoric. We cannot allow
prejudiced and inflammatory language to dominate critical policy conversations, nor to threaten the safety and liberty of our communities.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Signed,
National Organizations
Anti-Defamation League
Advocates for Youth
African Communities Together
American Jewish Committee
Alianza Americas
America’s Voice
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
Asian Americans Advancing Justice
ASISTA
Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project
Autistic Self-Advocacy Network
Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network
Avodah
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action
Bridges Faith Initiative,
Bridging Divides Initiative,
Cameroon American Council
CASA
Center for Security, Race and Rights
Center for Victims of Torture
Church World Service
Coalition on Human Needs
Communities United for Status and Protection
Community Change Action
Global Project Against Hate and Extremism
Grassroots Leadership
HIAS
Hispanic Federation
Hope Border Institute
Human Rights Campaign
Human Rights First
Immigrant Guide
Immigrant Legal Resource Center
Immigration Equality
Immigration Hub
Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti
Interfaith Alliance
Japanese American Citizen’s League
Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ocean Futures Society
Jesuit Refugee Service/USA
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Jewish Labor Committee
Justice Action Center
Keshet
Latin America Working Group
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
MANA, A National Latina Organization
March For Our Lives
Mi Familia Vota
MomsRising
MPower Change Action Fund
Muslim Advocates, Muslim Public Affairs Council
National Council of Jewish Women
National Disability Rights Network
National Education Association
National Employment Law Project
National Immigrant Justice Center
National Immigration Forum
National Immigration Law Center
National Immigration Project
National Network for Arab American Communities
National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
National Organization for Women
National Partnership for New Americans
National Urban League
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
Newtown Action Alliance
Nicaraguan American Legal Defense and Education Fund
Oasis Legal Services
Oxfam America
People Power United
Presente.org
Quixote Center
Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Justice Team
Society for Humanistic Judaism
Southern Border Communities Coalition
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Border Network for Human Rights
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
The Sikh Coalition
UndocuBlack Network
UnidosUS
Union for Reform Judaism
United We Dream
Veterans for American Ideals
Voto Latino
We Are All America
WelcomeWithDignity
Western States Center
Witness at the Border
Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights
22nd Century Initiative
State/Local Organizations
Arizona
Coalición de Derechos Humanos
Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project
Tucson Jewish Museum and Holocaust Center
California
Al Otro Lado
Alliance San Diego
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights
Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project
Immigrant Defenders Law Center
Indivisible Media City Burbank
Program for Torture Victims
Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network
Sisters of Mercy Solidarity Committee
Venice Resistance
Colorado
Jewish Community Relations Council
D.C.
AyudaFlorida
Family Action Network Movement
Florida Immigrant Coalition
Jewish Federation of Broward County
Georgia
Congregation Bet Haverim
GALEO Impact Fund
Georgia Interfaith Public Policy Center
Islamic Speakers Bureau of Atlanta
Jewish Community Relations Council of Atlanta
Idaho
United Vision for Idaho
Illinois
Jewish Federation of Greater Rockford
Indiana
Jewish Community Relations Council Indianapolis
Jewish Federation of Fort Wayne
Mariposa Legal
Louisiana
Immigration Services and Legal Advocacy
Maryland
Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Howard County
Massachusetts
Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action
Michigan
Strangers No Longer
Minnesota
Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota
Jewish Community Action
Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas
Nebraska
Jewish Community Relations Council Omaha
New Jersey
Bend the Arc Jewish Action: South Jersey
Wind of the Spirit Immigrant Resource Center
New Mexico
New Mexico Dream Team
Border Network for Human Rights
New York
Open Borders CoLAB at Cornell University
The National Federation for Just Communities of WNY Inc.
Upper East Side for Change
Jewish Community Relations Council Buffalo
Jewish Community Relations Council of Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester
Levine Center to End Hate at Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester
Make the Road New York
North Carolina
Carolina Jews for JusticeOhio
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action Pittsburgh
Cleveland Jobs with Justice
Jewish Community Relations Council of Cincinnati
Jewish Federation of Greater Toledo
Oregon
Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education
Oregon League of Conservative Voters PCUN
Tennessee
Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Nashville
Texas
Asian Texans for Justice
Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services Inc.
El Paso Holocaust Museum
La Union del Pueblo Entero
Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center
Voces Unidas RGV
Woori Juntos
Washington
Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle
Manzanita House
Peace & Justice Action League of Spokane
Wisconsin
Jewish Community Relations Council Milwaukee
