When the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) released its 2006 hate crime statistics last week, there was a trend that did not receive much attention in the media--an increase in hate crimes directed at Latinos. While reminding readers that hate crimes statistics are highly unreliable, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has pointed out that hate crimes against Latinos have grown by 35% from 2003 to 2006. In California, where there is the largest Latino population in the United States, the crimes have doubled.
The SPLC links this increase in anti-immigrant rhetoric in recent years, much of which has sought to dehumanize Latinos as "invaders," "criminals," or "cockroaches." According to the Center, "the perpetrators range from racist skinheads to rogue Border Patrol agents to otherwise everyday citizens."
