Cable news blamed for rise in Latino 'hate crimes'

'La Raza' targets guests who call illegals 'invaders,' blame them
Posted: February 2, 2008 1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2008 WorldNetDaily.com

The fierce debate over illegal immigration on cable news channels could be the cause of a purported increase in hate crimes against Latinos, charges the radical Hispanic rights group National Council of La Raza.

The group, which says it's launching a campaign against vilification of immigrants and Hispanic Americans, wants to meet executives of the Fox News Channel, MSNBC and CNN and press them to stop "handing hate a microphone" on their programs, the Dallas Morning News reported.

"This surge of hate is being driven by a relatively small but vocal and extreme segment of our society," said Janet Murguia, La Raza's president and chief executive.

Murguia claims a 25-percent increase in hate crimes against Latinos between 2004 and 2006, according to FBI statistics the group compiled.

The group, the Dallas paper reported, has called on Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee to renounce his endorsement by Minuteman Project co-founder Jim Gilchrist, an opponent of open borders who frequently appears on cable news shows.

Gilchrist responded to the Morning News, calling La Raza a racial supremacy group that "dwarfs the combination of Black Panthers, KKK, American Indian Movement and Asian gangs."

As WND reported, La Raza, which means "The Race," was condemned in 2006 by Rep. Charles Norwood, R-Ga., as a radical "pro-illegal immigration lobbying organization that supports racist groups calling for the secession of the western United States as a Hispanic-only homeland."