It has been five years since 23 people died in a racist massacre at a Texas Walmart. Now, leaders of anti-hate groups believe racially-motivated speech has further permeated the society and is becoming more common.
Before the massacre in El Chapo, Texas, the gunman had posted an online rant saying he was responding to a "Hispanic invasion of Texas," as immigrants were taking the place of white people. The man was sentenced to 90 consecutive life terms, last year, after he pleaded guilty to federal charges.
Saturday marked the five-year anniversary of the attack. Paul Jamrowski, whose daughter Jordan Anchondo and her husband Andre Anchondo died protecting their 2-month-old son, said he spent the day "reminiscing and remembering them, the people they were," NBC News reported.
Since the racially motivated attack, several individuals, including former President Donald Trump and other Republicans, have used similar language, said Thomas Saenz, president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
"We see more invasion talk than we saw back then. Certainly, there is lots more anti-immigration talk from Trump himself," Saenz said.
Last week, at the National Association of Black Journalists conference, Trump told the audience that people crossing the U.S. southern border would take jobs from Black Americans.
"... they're taking the employment away from Black people. They're coming in, and they're coming in, they're invading," Trump said.
America's Voice senior research director Zachary Mueller cited a report, saying in the last five years, 165 current Congress members have spread the replacement theory and invasion rhetoric.
In the first seven months of 2024, congressional members have mentioned the invasion and great replacement theory over 650 times on social media and proposed 11 bills, using similar language. Mueller mentioned that they used this rhetoric in 302 ads, spending $30 million in the first half of this year, compared to 61 ads and $5.5 million in all of 2022.
"Five years later, the bigoted conspiracy theory that motivated deadly hate continues to threaten our public safety and American democracy and it must urgently be condemned," Mueller added.
Trump and Republicans have made the increase in border arrivals and immigration a key issue for the 2024 election bid.
As the elections are coming close, polls have shown that more voters, including Hispanics, now support stricter border policies. This is because more communities have had to help people crossing the border, including those sent to their cities.
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