PATCHOGUE, N.Y. (AP) – By all accounts, tensions between Latino newcomers and whites have eased in the nearly eight years since a vicious hate-crime stabbing left an Ecuadorean immigrant dead.
Enter Donald Trump.
Trump’s planned appearance at a GOP fundraiser on Thursday just blocks from the site of the attack has ignited protests from Latinos, who fear the billionaire’s tough talk against immigrants could open old wounds and undo the progress that’s been made in the Long Island community.
“If he comes, there might be a toxic environment again. Maybe something bad happens,” said 23-year-old Jocelyn Fajardo, who was born in New York City to Ecuadorean parents. “Trump puts U.S. people against us, Latinos. He divides people.”
Joselo Lucero, whose brother was killed in the 2008 attack, says Patchogue is the wrong place for Trump to visit. “My community has suffered so much discrimination.”