To prevent hate acts and crimes, Los Angeles County involved local Latino consulates to join the LA vs Hate
campaign
By: Nora Estrada
In response to rising hate against the Latino community during this election season, the Los Angeles Human Relations Commission program LA vs Hate invited local Latino consulates to join efforts to stop the attacks.
During a three hour meeting at the Human Relations Commission headquarters on Wednesday, October 23, the agency’s Executive Director, Robin Toma said “We are in the middle of an election campaign in this country, and unfortunately there is a growing anti-immigrant, anti-Latino sentiment.”
He hinted that Former President Donald Trump’s derogatory statements against Latinos helped spread hate against immigrants to criminal levels.
Toma asked consuls to train their staff to report all acts of hate and hostile acts of discrimination to LAvsHate.org/211, and to help hate victims obtain free and confidential help in Spanish or English through LA vs Hate, the agency responsible for collecting and analyzing reports of hate crimes and incidents in LA county.
“It is essential that Latinos know that we are with them when they are subjected to discrimination and hatred, and that we are defending their human rights,” he said.
“We have all kinds of ways to help people, even if it’s not a hate crime, because we want to live in a society where people live with respect,” she added. “We all want to be treated equally, regardless of the color of our skin.”
Among the Latin American consuls in Los Angeles who attended the meeting were Carlos González Gutiérrez, of Mexico; Alejandro José Letona, of El Salvador; Francisco Leal Lisboa, of Chile; and Manuel Ruiz Díaz, of Paraguay.
Also participating were Rigo Reyes, executive director of the Los Angeles County Office of Immigrant Affairs and the Department of Business and Consumer Affairs; Christian Contreras, civil rights attorney; and Salvador Avila, representing the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations.
Commission staff shared that in 2023, Latinos were the second-largest group of victims of racial hate crimes in LA County.
As of 2022, Latinos were the target of 22% of racial hate crimes. Crimes against Latinos increased by 3% the next year, from 117 to 121 total.
Toma said LA vs Hate “is a nonpartisan campaign against hate, but we know there is a connection between voting and the fact that many people have died for the right to vote, especially for minorities in this country … It is time to support each other. We have to stand together in solidarity to defend the rights of each one. We cannot be divided.”
He urged Los Angeles County residents to vote in the presidential elections on November 5 without fear: “There are a lot of protections, the polling places are safe. No one should be intimidated. Everyone has the right to vote, and if they are intimidated, they should report it.”
González Gutiérrez said that as a Mexican consulate official, he felt fortunate to have powerful institutional partners in Los Angeles County to protect the community.
“They help us, at least in this region, to convey this message clearly and strongly, and at the same time, they offer us resources to help those who are affected by a case of hate,” he explained. “Everyone deserves to be treated with respect regardless of the color of their skin.”
“Now is the time to redouble our efforts,” Gutiérrez added. “One of the challenges as consuls is to ensure that our staff is trained by the relevant authorities so that they can accurately and immediately identify when a hate crime occurs.
Attorney Christian Contreras, known in the community for representing Latino street vendors who were the victims of racial hate crimes, said that in addition to criminal statutes, there are also civil statutes and laws that can be used against those who commit hate.
He recalled that he represented vendors Jonatan Alvarez and Tomas Leocadio, who suffered a hate attack from perpetrator Daniel McGuire.
“The attacker claimed to support Donald Trump and destroyed my clients’ fruit stand with an axe and threatened to kill them. That happened in 2022,” Contreras shared.
Contreras and his clients won the case and were awarded $2.8 million the previous month, in September 2024.
“The jury and the community said ‘Let’s stop the hate.’ We live in a society where we have laws and order, and thanks to these alliances, the community will be better informed and will know how to act and where to go in the event of a hate attack,” added Contreras.
