What Halifax can learn from shootings in El Paso

Since last month’s mass shooting in El Paso, Latinxs throughout the US say they no longer feel safe. The shooting, which killed 22 people and injured another 24, was driven by racism and xenophobia against the Latinx community. The shooting speaks to a
troubling resurgence of white supremacist
violence in the US, fueled by Trump. In Canada, we need to be on high alert as well, particularly as elections draw near.

Trump’s hateful rhetoric and policies have long targeted Latin American immigrants and asylum-seekers. His constant vilification of this community has been used to justify
violent and dehumanizing policies. This includes massive raids against undocumented workers and the separation of Central American refugee families, as well as their
detainment in modern-day concentration camps. These are precursors to the El Paso massacre. How does Trudeau compare?

Despite his Liberal rhetoric of multiculturalism, Trudeau has sought to win political points by ushering in a number of anti-immigrant reforms, which disproportionately impact racialized people. This has included raising the deportation target to 10,000
people per year, an increase of up to 35 percent. Trudeau also appointed the
country’s first Minister of “Border Security and
Organized Crime Reduction,” associating
migration with criminality.

Not surprisingly, the Liberal party has maintained near-silence amid the escalating
situation in the US. Moreover, Trudeau has
ignored calls by the UN to step up resettlement of the most vulnerable Central
American refugees while moving to tighten the Canada-US border.

What happened in El Paso highlights the
urgency of recognizing and rooting out racism and xenophobia on all fronts, including
political discourse and state policies, be they from someone like Trump or Trudeau.

Indeed, we’ve seen the deadly consequences of far-right, racist and xenophobic violence with the 2017 Quebec mosque shooting.

As campaigning for the federal elections kicks off, Canadians must remain vigilant and speak out against divisive politics aimed at garnering votes. The pressure from
Haligonians and Canadians that led to the removal of xenophobic billboards supporting
Maxime Bernier is a prime example of the power in collective action.

In the lead up to the election, we call upon community members to take the
Migrant Rights Network (migrantrights.ca)pledge to not let politicians use racism to
divide us.

One month on, the community of El Paso is on the mend. This weekend a solidarity event in Halifax aimed at honouring the victims and raising our voices against white supremacy, as well as xenophobia in the US and here at home, will take place.

This article appears in Sep 5-11, 2019.