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Press Release

LULAC expresses concern over the murders of Mexican farmworkers in Tifton, Georgia and their susceptibility to violent crimes
Current immigration policies risk the lives of immigrants instead of solving problems

October 7, 2005

Contact: Brenda Alvarez, (202) 833-6130

Washington, DC – The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) expressed grave concern over the recent murders of six Mexican farmworkers in Tifton, Georgia and the vulnerability immigrants face toward this type of crime.   

LULAC has found that immigrants are often afraid to report any type of crime because they fear deportation.  These murders clearly underscore how current policies are risking lives instead of solving problems. 

Current immigration policies prevent immigrants from opening bank accounts and obtaining driver’s licenses because they lack a social security number.  As a result, immigrants are forced to carry cash and drive without auto insurance.  In recent days, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson of Texas introduced a bill giving all police officers the authority to detain and deport immigrants, which worsens the current immigration situation and makes them easier targets to violent crimes.   

“Hutchinson’s bill and others like it intend to make the living conditions of immigrants unbearable in hopes of returning to their native country,” said Brent Wilkes, Executive Director of LULAC.  “However, most people fail to realize that immigrants will work through these obstacles in exchange for employment.” 

The League of United Latin American Citizens (www.lulac.org) is the oldest and largest Latino civil rights organization in the United States.  LULAC advances the ­economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, health, and civil rights of Hispanic Americans through community-based programs operating at more than 700 LULAC councils nationwide.

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