FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Julian Teixeira
(202) 776-1812
jteixeira@nclr.org
WASHINGTON—NCLR (National Council of La Raza) today condemned a remark made by Kansas State Representative Virgil Peck (R) in which he suggested that the same helicopters used to hunt feral pigs be used to hunt undocumented immigrants. Peck stated, “It looks like to me if shooting these immigrating feral hogs works, maybe we have found a [solution] to our illegal immigration problem.” The remark was made at a hearing of the Kansas House Appropriations Committee on Monday.
“Peck’s alleged ‘joke’ is deeply offensive and a clear indication that the immigrant-bashing rhetoric of the past few years has succeeded in making immigrants less than human in the eyes of too many Americans,” said Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO. “Immigration is a complicated issue, but the vitriol surrounding the debate has very real consequences and endangers lives. We urge Peck’s colleagues to condemn his remarks in the name of civility and decency.”
Noting that Peck said he was just speaking like “a southeast Kansas person,” Murguía added, “It is despicable that Peck would invoke his Kansan heritage to defend his remarks. I was born and raised in Kansas, and the people I grew up with are hardworking people with close-knit families, good neighbors, and people of strong faith. They do not think that hunting human beings is funny. Peck owes his constituents and my home state an apology.”