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Bay City News Wire
IMMIGRANT GROUPS SEND OPEN LETTER TO GOVERNOR
05/23/05 4:20 PDT

A statewide collective of immigrant and refugee rights organizations are sending Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger an open letter today, calling on him to retract support for the Minuteman Project, a vigilante group along the Mexican border in Arizona.

"Your position is inciting bigotry and undermining the rights of California's immigrant communities. Your words of support are giving cover to hate groups and encourage racial discrimination and hate against those perceived to be the most vulnerable,'' the letter states.

"Your support for vigilantes amounts to calling for attacks on immigrants and diminishes their civil rights,'' it continues.

More than 15 groups from around the state have endorsed the letter, which comes in response to a string of recent comments made by Schwarzenegger on immigration.

"As governor, it is your responsibility to protect and promote the rights and interests of all California residents, regardless of their immigration or citizenship status, to live, work, worship, study and play free from fear or hate,'' the groups write in the letter.

The letter closes by urging Schwarzenegger to "ensure the integration of all immigrant communities into the mainstream of California.''