Following the killing of Ecuadoran immigrant Marcelo Lucero in 2008, Suffolk County's legislture established the Suffolk Hate Crimes Task Force to examine the sources of anti-immigrant and other hate-based violence in the county and make recommendations for change. The Task Force report has been delayed for months by County Executive Steve Levy, who was described as a principal enabler of anti-immigrant bigotry in a report by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

In January, Task Force Chairman DuWayne Gregory learned that  the Task Force’s report was intercepted by  the County Executive’s office and may have been altered by it. He has called for an ethics investigation into the County Executive’s actions.

This petition will be sent to members of the Task Force. It supports the efforts of Chairman Gregory to get to the bottom of Steve Levy’s interference and it asks the Task Force to adopt the recommendations of the Long Island Immigrant Alliance, a coalition of more than 50 non-governmental organizations that includes the Long Island Council of Churches, Catholic Charities, most immigrant service organizations and several labor unions.