National Hispanic leaders slam 'false narrative' about Latinos as they mourn bridge collapse victims

Forty-nine Latino leaders signed an open letter released Friday honoring the memory of the Latino immigrant workers who died in the Baltimore bridge collapse last week, while also condemning the spread of "a false narrative" undermining the contributions of the nation's Hispanic people.

The letter coincides with President Joe Biden's visit to the site of the deadly Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, where he met with some of the victims’ families.

"We lift this painful moment as a reminder that the Latino community is often behind the building and maintenance of our nation’s infrastructure and should be celebrated for their contributions and sacrifice," Hispanic leaders heading civic, cultural, legal, labor, corporate, medical, educational and political organizations nationwide stated in their letter.

"While some extremists may want to use the Latino community as a political wedge that depicts all Latinos as a burden and criminal element, the tragedy reminds us all of the reality of our community’s role and daily sacrifice to keep our nation strong," they added.

The letter marks a contrast to recent anti-immigrant rhetoric following the slaying of a nursing student in Georgia, where the suspect was revealed to be an undocumented immigrant, and a teen migrant who was accused of shooting a tourist in Times Square.

Some Republican and conservative voices have pointed to these incidents to push for hard-line immigration policies, while some Democrats have labeled such attempts as “cheap” political tactics.

This week former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, referred to migrants as “animals” and “not human” as he referred to the crimes.

According to the National Institute of Justice