How put out the fire with gasoline
The United States legislature is pushing legislation named after Laken Riley, a young woman murdered by an undocumented immigrant last year who was recently found guilty for the death of this university student.
The United States legislature targets undocumented immigrants and blames all of them for Laken Riley's death, but they are unable to engage in an honest conversation about violence against women.
Laken Riley was one of thousands of women who experience violence at the University of GA. This figure remained unchanged last year, despite the legislation prompted by Laken Riley's death, HB1105 of GA. 25% of women at the University of Georgia suffered violence last year, not fatal but deadly for their health. The psychological damage to victims of violence can lead them to live with depression and sometimes even take their own lives.
Any legislation that wants to honor Laken Riley's memory must forcefully address gender-based violence. 25% of women across the country were violated last year, and all indications are that by the end of 2025, this figure will remain unchanged.
Why is it so difficult to talk about gender-based violence?
Is it because the majority of political leaders are men?
Because the perpetrators are mostly men.
If men are the ones who commit violent acts against women, then why aren't there programs to prevent this violence? And if such programs exist, why aren't they evaluated to correct their failures? Because they are clearly not working, so that our society can begin a path to recovery from violence against women.
The United States Legislature is trying to put out the fire with gasoline.
If we've learned anything in the last 20 years of criminalizing migrants, it's that removing all undocumented people from the country will not solve gender-based violence, much less violence in general. On the contrary, these legislations create violent language against migrant communities. The violence is not only against the undocumented, but against all Hispanics or at least the darker-skinned ones, those who look more indigenous.
The most worrying thing is that legislators are role models for millions of people who have voted for them, who identify with their political perspective, who identify with their moral stance in society, and that's why they are elected as leaders. Why else can we choose our leaders? Only for low taxes?
The bases of conservative politicians are aggressive, intolerant, armed to the teeth, and believe that undocumented immigrants are the problem the country has. However, mass shootings are becoming commonplace in the United States, and the perpetrators are mostly American citizens.
The sacred precincts of youth are now targets of mass murders.
Domestic terrorism is not called by its name. Just as they shout the name of young Laken Riley, they are incapable of shouting Christian or Malcolm’s name, the names of the young people killed at the Apache school last year, asesinated with the rifle of a schoolmate, a rifle he received as a Christmas gift from his father. I can't imagine a bigger contradiction. However, on social media, I've seen photos of some politician with his family, all with firearms and Santa Claus hats. So why not hold leaders accountable for the consequences of their actions?
H.R.29 - Laken Riley Act is legislation that paints undocumented immigrants as rapists and murderers. Women and children are in the category of illegal aliens. We also know that the persecution of immigrants also affects their citizen children, their citizen spouses, their brothers, uncles, grandparents who see their loved ones being deported without being able to do anything about it, and the worst that constitutes family breakdown, family economy, and this extends to their entire community.
Rest in peace, Laken Riley. Her perpetrator was sentenced to life. I hardly believe Laken Riley would agree that, in her memory, an entire community should be punished and evade addressing the underlying problem: violence against women in the United States.
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