Joint Letter - People Power United statement on the anniversary of the El Paso shooting

🗽A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny.

Over 160 national and local groups signed a letter urging Congressional leadership to unequivocally denounce white supremacist, anti-immigrant rhetoric and its use by Members of Congress, and encourage members of their caucuses to refrain from using this dangerous rhetoric. People Power United was proud to join this effort on behalf of our membership.

August 1, 2023 

The Honorable Charles E. Schumer The Honorable Mitch McConnell Majority Leader Minority Leader 

United States Senate United States Senate Room S-221, U.S. Capitol Room S-230, U.S. Capitol Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510 

The Honorable Kevin McCarthy The Honorable Hakeem Jeffries Speaker of the House Minority Leader 

United States House of Representatives United States House of Representatives Room H-232, U.S. Capitol Room H-204, U.S. Capitol Washington, D.C. 20515 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 3^rd, 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 Colorado 

D.C. 

Ayuda 

Florida 

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 Justice 

Ohio 

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