PETITION CLOSED

  • The time period for signing this petition has ended.
Justice for Marcelo- Suffolk Hate Crime Report Must Be Honest!
  1. Signatures
    200 out of 200
    Petitioning
    1. Rev. Roderick Pearson (+ 11 others)
      Petitioning
      close
      • Rev. Roderick Pearson
      • Isabel Sepulveda-de Scanlon
      • Alex Gutierrez
      • Laura A. Ahern
      • JoAnn Barrett
      • Mohsen Elsayed
      • Reynolds E. Hawkins
      • Dr. David Scott Kilmnick
      • Chief Inspector Ty Mojica
      • Rabbi Steven Moss
      • Chairman (DuWayne Gregory)
      • Renee Ortiz
  2. Created By
    Patrick Young
    Westbury, NY
About this Petition Petition Letter

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.

Recent Signatures

Hate Crimes Task Force Report must be trustworthy

Greetings,

I am writing to express support for a report from the Suffolk Hate Crimes Task Force that fully embraces the carefully researched recommendations by community groups assembled by the Long Island Immigrant Alliance.

The Suffolk County Legislature’s Hate Crimes Task Force was set up to increase public confidence that the Suffolk County government will do more to protect, respect, and promote the rights of immigrants. It’s been over two years since the hate killing of Marcelo Lucero. Now it turns out that those close to the County Executive have delayed and may have tampered with a draft of your report.

The actions of the County Executive’s office offer an appearance of serious impropriety and undermine the trust the Task force was designed to foster. Your months of work on behalf of the county have been compromised by the self-serving actions of the administration.

I applaud Legislator DuWayne Gregory for taking positive leadership on calling the public’s attention to this breach of ethics. I call upon each member of the Task Force to respond to this breach by fully adopting the recommendations submitted to it by the Long Island Immigrant Alliance. Adopting LIIA’s 23 recommendations in their entirety will send a strong message that the Task Force has listened to the public and has not been co-opted by those who have contributed to the problem of hate crimes.

[Your name]

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