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Musicians Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin and Lin-Manuel Miranda
gave their backing to the letter, which called on those outside
the Latino community to "speak out loudly against hate."
"If you are feeling terrified, heartbroken and defeated by the
barrage of attacks on our community, you are not alone," said
the letter, addressed to the Querida Familia Latina (Dear Latino
Family) and published in the New York Times, La Opinion and
other newspapers.
The letter followed a shooting in the predominantly Latino
border city of El Paso, Texas on Aug. 3 that killed 22 people
and is believed to have been racially motivated, as well as the
arrest of 680 people in immigration raids last week on seven
agricultural processing plants in Mississippi.
Both followed accusations that U.S. President Donald Trump has
stoked racial divisions with his rhetoric and his crackdown on
immigration at the U.S. border with Mexico.
"We will not be broken. We will not be silenced. We will
continue to denounce any hateful and inhumane treatment of our
community. We will demand dignity and justice," the letter said.
It called on allies of the Latino community to "speak out
loudly against hate, to contribute your resources to
organizations that support our community, and to hold our
leaders accountable."
Former "Desperate Housewives" star Longoria said in a statement
that the U.S. is facing "a moral crisis ... and we chose to use
this moment to raise our voices and speak up."
The letter was signed by many of the leading Latino voices and
activists in United States, including veteran labor leader
Dolores Huerta, novelist Sandra Cisneros and Voto Latino
political group president Maria Teresa Kumar.
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
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