Synopses & Reviews
2014 International Latino Awards FinalistThe true story of an immigrant's murder that turned a quaint village on the Long Island shore into ground zero in the war on immigration
In November 2008, Marcelo Lucero, a thirty-seven-year-old undocumented Ecuadorean immigrant, was attacked and murdered by a group of teenagers as he walked the streets of the Long Island village of Patchogue accompanied by a childhood friend. The attackers were out “hunting for beaners.” Chasing, harassing, and assaulting defenseless “beaners”—their slur for Latinos—was part of their weekly entertainment, some of the teenagers later confessed. Latinos—primarily men and not all of them immigrants—have become the target of hate crimes in recent years as the nation wrestles with swelling numbers of undocumented immigrants, the suburbs become the newcomers’ first destination, and public figures advance their careers by spewing anti-immigration rhetoric.
Lucero, an unassuming worker at a dry cleaner’s, became yet another victim of anti-immigration fever. In the wake of his death, Patchogue was catapulted into the national limelight as this formerly unremarkable suburb of New York became ground zero in the war on immigration. In death, Lucero became a symbol of everything that was wrong with our broken immigration system: fewer opportunities to obtain visas to travel to the United States, porous borders, a growing dependency on cheap labor, and the rise of bigotry.
Drawing on firsthand interviews and on-the-ground reporting, journalist Mirta Ojito has crafted an unflinching portrait of one community struggling to reconcile the hate and fear underlying the idyllic veneer of their all-American town. With a strong commitment to telling all sides of the story, Ojito unravels the engrossing narrative with objectivity and insight, providing an invaluable look at one of America’s most pressing issues.
Synopsis
Mirta Ojito, a newspaper reporter since 1987, has worked for the Miami Herald, El Nuevo Herald, and, from 1996 to 2002, the New York Times, where she covered immigration, among other beats, for the Metro desk. She has received numerous awards, including a shared Pulitzer Prize for national reporting in 2001 for a series in the Times about race in America. The author of Finding Mañana: A Memoir of a Cuban Exodus, she is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and an assistant professor at the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University in New York City.
Synopsis
"Ojito has done truth an invaluable service. Extraordinary."--Junot D az, author of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao 2014 International Latino Awards Finalist
A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist uncovers the true story of an immigrant's murder that turned a quaint village on the Long Island shore into ground zero in the war on immigration
In November 2008, 37-year-old Marcelo Lucero, an unassuming worker at a dry cleaner's and an undocumented Ecuadorean immigrant, was attacked and murdered by a group of teenagers as he walked the streets of the Long Island village of Patchogue accompanied by a childhood friend. The attackers were out "hunting for beaners." Some of the kids later confessed that chasing, harassing, and assaulting defenseless "beaners"--their slur for Latinos--was part of their weekly entertainment. In recent years, Latinos have become the target of hate crimes as the nation wrestles with swelling numbers of undocumented immigrants. Public figures fan the flames and advance their careers by spewing anti-immigration rhetoric.
In death, Lucero became a symbol of everything that was wrong with our broken immigration system: fewer opportunities to obtain travel visas to the United States, porous borders, a growing dependency on cheap labor, and the rise of bigotry.
Drawing on firsthand interviews and on-the-ground reporting, journalist Mirta Ojito has crafted an unflinching portrait of one community struggling to reconcile the hate and fear underlying the idyllic veneer of their all-American town. With a strong commitment to telling all sides of the story, Ojito unravels the engrossing narrative with objectivity and insight, providing an invaluable look at one of America's most pressing issues.
"Reminds us how we might think of each other and how we treat all of our neighbors, whether or not they look like us. This is our human story."--Wes Moore, author of The Other Wes Moore
Synopsis
The true story of an immigrant's murder that turned a quaint village on the Long Island shore into ground zero in the war on immigration
In November of 2008, Marcelo Lucero, a thirty-seven-year-old undocumented Ecuadorean immigrant, was brutally attacked and murdered by a group of teenagers as he walked the streets of Patchogue, a quiet Long Island town. The teenaged attackers were out "hunting for beaners," their slur for Latinos, and Lucero was to become another victim of the anti-immigration fever spreading in the United States. But in death, Lucero's name became a symbol of everything that was wrong with our broken immigration system: porous borders, lax law enforcement, and the rise of bigotry. With a strong commitment to telling all sides of the story, journalist Mirta Ojito unravels the engrossing narrative with objectivity and insight, providing an invaluable peephole into one of America's most pressing issues.
Table of Contents
Contents
Author’s Note · xi
PROLOGUE · 1
CHAPTER 1
A Bloody Knife · 15
CHAPTER 2
Painted Birds in the Air · 27
CHAPTER 3
Welcome to Patchogue · 43
CHAPTER 4
Not in My Backyard · 58
CHAPTER 5
Beaner Jumping · 79
CHAPTER 6
Unwanted · 105
CHAPTER 7
A Murder in the Suburbs · 118
CHAPTER 8
A Torn Community · 139
CHAPTER 9
A Little Piece of Heaven · 167
CHAPTER 10
Trial and Punishment · 188
EPILOGUE · 206
Acknowledgments · 227
Notes · 230
Bibliography · 250