Virginia LULAC Condemns Anti-Immigrant Flyers Distributed in Alexandria, Calls on City Leaders to Take Action
Virginia LULAC stands in solidarity with Alexandria's immigrant communities and calls for stronger community protections, accountability, and a renewed commitment to ensuring that every resident feels safe, respected, and welcomed.
The Virginia League of United Latin American Citizens (Virginia LULAC) is appalled and deeply disturbed by reports of anti-immigrant flyers being distributed and placed on vehicles throughout the City of Alexandria. These troubling actions have raised serious concerns among residents and serve as a painful reminder that prejudice, xenophobia, and anti-immigrant hostility continue to affect communities across our Commonwealth.
According to reporting by DC News Now, Alexandria residents expressed concern after discovering anti-immigrant flyers placed on parked vehicles. The incident has prompted questions about the intentions behind these materials and the impact that such messaging can have on immigrant families and communities that already face uncertainty and fear.
Virginia LULAC unequivocally condemns the distribution of materials intended to intimidate, marginalize, or make immigrant communities feel unwelcome. Such behavior is unacceptable, unnecessary, and contrary to the values of dignity, inclusion, and mutual respect that should define our Commonwealth.
Let us be absolutely clear: Hate, xenophobia, and the targeting of immigrant communities are not welcome in Alexandria, and they are not welcome anywhere in Virginia.
Our communities should never have to question whether they belong in the neighborhoods they call home. No parent should have to explain to their children why their heritage or nationality makes them a target of hostility. No hardworking resident should feel that their contributions to society are somehow diminished because of where they were born, the language they speak, or their immigration status.
Virginia LULAC stands firmly alongside Alexandria's Latino families, immigrant communities, and all residents who believe that our cities and neighborhoods must remain places of opportunity, security, and belonging.
Alexandria's Diversity Is Its Strength, Not a Threat
Alexandria has long been shaped by the contributions of immigrants, working families, entrepreneurs, educators, and generations of residents representing different cultures and backgrounds.
Immigrant communities are an essential part of Alexandria's social, cultural, and economic identity. They operate local businesses, contribute to the workforce, care for our families, educate our children, support our healthcare systems, and strengthen the neighborhoods that make Alexandria a vibrant and welcoming city.
For many immigrant families, Alexandria represents more than a place to live. It represents the promise of opportunity, stability, and a better future for their children.
That promise must never be undermined by rhetoric or actions intended to make people feel that they are strangers in their own communities.
Our immigrant neighbors are not outsiders. They are our coworkers, classmates, teachers, healthcare professionals, business owners, friends, and family members. They are an inseparable part of Virginia's identity, history, and future.
When one community is made to feel threatened or unwelcome, the consequences extend beyond that community. Fear erodes trust between neighbors, discourages civic participation, and weakens the sense of unity that allows our cities to flourish.
Virginia LULAC believes that diversity should never be treated as a source of division. It should be recognized as one of our Commonwealth's greatest strengths.
Virginia LULAC Calls on Alexandria City Council and City Leadership to Act
Virginia LULAC calls upon the Alexandria City Council, Mayor Alyia Gaskins, and city leadership to address the concerns raised by these incidents and take meaningful, proactive steps to reassure residents that their safety, dignity, and belonging remain priorities of the city government.
Virginia LULAC acknowledges the statements made by Mayor Alyia Gaskins and Alexandria Police Chief Tarrick McGuire addressing these incidents. We appreciate their recognition of the concerns raised by residents and encourage continued transparency, community engagement, and meaningful action to ensure that all Alexandria residents feel safe and respected.
Condemning discriminatory rhetoric is an important first step. However, meaningful leadership also requires continued engagement with affected communities, transparency, and a willingness to address the conditions that allow fear and hostility to spread.
We urge Alexandria's elected officials and municipal leadership to work collaboratively with community organizations, civil rights advocates, immigrant-serving institutions, and residents to ensure that concerns surrounding these incidents are heard and appropriately addressed.
Specifically, Virginia LULAC calls for:
A clear and public reaffirmation of Alexandria's commitment to its immigrant communities, emphasizing that all residents deserve dignity, respect, and protection from unlawful harassment and intimidation.
Appropriate review of the reported incidents by relevant city authorities, including an assessment of whether any threats, harassment, voter intimidation, or other potential violations of the law occurred.
Direct engagement with immigrant and Latino community organizations to better understand the concerns raised by residents and identify opportunities to strengthen community trust and public safety.
Accessible public information and reporting resources, including multilingual guidance to help residents understand how to report threats, harassment, or suspected discriminatory conduct.
Continued investment in community education, inclusion, and outreach, ensuring that Alexandria remains a city where residents from every background can participate fully in civic and community life.
Virginia LULAC recognizes that freedom of speech and expression are fundamental constitutional protections. However, those protections do not prevent elected leaders from condemning discriminatory messages, supporting affected communities, or ensuring that conduct crossing the line into unlawful threats or intimidation is appropriately addressed.
Protecting constitutional freedoms and standing against discrimination are not mutually exclusive responsibilities. Both are essential to a community committed to justice and equal treatment.
We believe Alexandria's leadership has an opportunity to demonstrate that the city's commitment to inclusion extends beyond statements of principle and is reflected in meaningful community engagement and responsive public leadership.
The Human Impact of Anti-Immigrant Hostility and Our Shared Responsibility Across Virginia
While the distribution of anti-immigrant flyers may appear to some as an isolated incident, the impact of such actions can extend far beyond the paper on which a message is printed. For immigrant families, particularly those who have experienced discrimination, political persecution, or uncertainty surrounding immigration enforcement, hostile messaging can revive painful memories and create new anxieties about their safety, dignity, and future.
For parents, these incidents can raise questions about the environment in which their children are growing up. For elderly residents, they can create feelings of vulnerability and isolation. For young people, they can send a troubling message about whether their identities, cultures, and families are truly accepted in the communities they call home.
These concerns deserve to be taken seriously.
No child should grow up believing that their family's heritage makes them less deserving of respect. No family should feel compelled to hide its language, culture, or identity out of fear of being targeted.
Latino communities have played an invaluable role in shaping Virginia's economic growth, cultural richness, and shared prosperity. From Northern Virginia to Hampton Roads, Richmond, the Shenandoah Valley, and communities throughout the Commonwealth, Latino residents have built businesses, strengthened local economies, served in public institutions, and enriched the civic life of our state.
Our contributions are not temporary, and our presence is not conditional upon the approval of those who seek to divide us. We are part of Virginia, and we deserve to live with the same dignity, security, and opportunity afforded to every other resident.
Although these incidents occurred in Alexandria, the concerns they raise extend far beyond the city's boundaries. They remind us that protecting the dignity and belonging of immigrant communities is a responsibility shared throughout the Commonwealth.
Anti-immigrant hostility does not exist in isolation. Public rhetoric, misinformation, and discriminatory attitudes can influence how individuals perceive and treat their neighbors. When entire communities are portrayed as threats rather than recognized as people, the consequences can extend beyond individual families, weakening trust, creating division, and undermining the sense of belonging that every community deserves.
We must reject the idea that differences in nationality, ethnicity, language, or immigration status justify treating individuals with hostility or suspicion. Virginia's future depends on our ability to build communities where people can coexist with mutual respect, where disagreements are addressed without dehumanization, and where every resident has an opportunity to contribute.
Our Commonwealth cannot claim to celebrate diversity while remaining indifferent when members of that diversity are made to feel unwelcome.
Virginia LULAC calls upon local governments, civic institutions, faith communities, educational organizations, and community leaders across Virginia to reaffirm their commitment to rejecting discrimination, supporting affected families, and strengthening relationships among the people they serve.
This is not simply a matter affecting one nationality, one ethnic community, or one city. It is a question of the kind of Commonwealth we want to build together.
Virginia is our home. Our communities belong here, our contributions matter, and our shared future must be built upon dignity, respect, and the understanding that every person deserves to feel welcomed in the place they call home.
Virginia LULAC Thanks Alexandria Residents for Standing in Solidarity With Immigrant Families
Amid these troubling incidents, Virginia LULAC also wishes to recognize and express our deepest gratitude to the residents of Alexandria who have come together to stand in solidarity with immigrant families and reject messages of hatred and division.
According to reporting by WUSA9, residents of Alexandria's Del Ray neighborhood gathered along Mount Jefferson Park and the Greenway Trail on Friday evening, October 30, to demonstrate their support for immigrant communities following a series of anti-immigrant incidents in the area.
The gathering followed reports of anti-immigrant graffiti along a popular neighborhood walking trail, including messages encouraging individuals to report immigrants to federal immigration authorities. The graffiti appeared after an earlier incident in which anti-immigrant flyers were placed on vehicles throughout the community.
Rather than allowing these incidents to define their neighborhood, residents chose to respond with unity, compassion, and a public demonstration of solidarity.
Virginia LULAC is incredibly proud of and deeply thankful for the residents of Alexandria who have stood alongside our immigrant and Latino communities during this difficult time.
These neighbors have demonstrated something profoundly important: that our communities are not defined by the actions of those who seek to divide us, but by the compassion, courage, and solidarity of those who choose to stand together.
Their actions remind us that the overwhelming message we should strive to send throughout Virginia is one of belonging, friendship, and mutual respect.
You have shown our communities that we are not alone. You have reminded us that we are your neighbors, your friends, your coworkers, and your fellow Virginians. Most importantly, you have demonstrated that our presence in this community is valued and welcomed.
For many immigrant families, particularly those who may be experiencing uncertainty or fear, knowing that their neighbors are willing to stand publicly beside them can provide an extraordinary sense of comfort and reassurance.
It is one thing to hear that a community values diversity. It is another to witness neighbors actively defending that principle when it matters most.
Virginia LULAC believes that the residents of Del Ray have provided a meaningful example of what community solidarity should look like throughout the Commonwealth.
We are especially grateful to those who understand that immigrant families are not separate from the communities in which they live. They are an integral part of those communities, contributing to the same neighborhoods, supporting the same local businesses, attending the same schools, and sharing the same hopes for a safe and prosperous future.
We are proud to call you our neighbors. We are grateful to call you our friends. And we are deeply thankful to have you as allies.
Your willingness to stand with our communities represents the very best of Alexandria and the values that make Virginia a place so many people are proud to call home.
The residents who gathered in Del Ray also sent an important message: Attempts to spread fear and division will not be tolerated in our community. We are proud of the diverse community we have built together, and we stand united in defending our neighbors, our families, and one another against hatred and discrimination. This is our home, and we will continue to stand together to protect the dignity, safety, and belonging of everyone who calls it home.
Instead, communities can choose understanding over hostility, friendship over suspicion, and solidarity over intimidation.
Virginia LULAC hopes that this demonstration of compassion will inspire other neighborhoods and communities across Virginia to stand together whenever residents face discrimination, harassment, or hostility.
Your actions have not gone unnoticed.
We are thankful for your friendship, proud of your leadership, and honored to be a part of this Commonwealth with you.
While Virginia LULAC continues to call upon Alexandria's elected leadership to address these incidents and ensure the protection of all residents, we also recognize that building a welcoming community is a responsibility shared by all of us.
The people of Del Ray have demonstrated that ordinary residents can make an extraordinary difference.
When hatred sought to divide the community, Alexandria's neighbors chose to stand together.
That is the Alexandria we believe in.
That is the Virginia we are committed to building.
And that is the spirit of solidarity that Virginia LULAC will continue to celebrate and defend.
Thank you, Alexandria neighbors, for reminding our communities that we belong, that we are welcomed, and that we never have to stand alone.
Virginia LULAC Stands Ready to Work With Alexandria
As one of the nation's longstanding Latino civil rights organizations, the League of United Latin American Citizens has a history of advocating for educational opportunity, civil rights, civic engagement, and the advancement of Latino communities.
Virginia LULAC remains committed to carrying that mission forward throughout the Commonwealth.
We recognize that creating welcoming communities requires cooperation among elected officials, public institutions, advocacy organizations, and the residents themselves.
Virginia LULAC stands ready to engage with Alexandria's city leadership, community organizations, and concerned residents to support constructive conversations about public safety, inclusion, and the protection of civil rights.
We encourage residents who experience threats, harassment, or intimidation to document incidents when safe to do so and report potential violations to the appropriate authorities.
We also encourage neighbors to look out for one another, support those who may feel vulnerable, and refuse to allow discriminatory rhetoric to undermine the relationships that make their communities strong.
The answer to division must be solidarity. The answer to intimidation must be accountability. And the answer to hatred must be a collective commitment to dignity, justice, and respect.
A Message to Alexandria's Immigrant and Latino Communities: You Belong Here
To every immigrant family in Alexandria, to every Latino resident who has worked tirelessly to build a better future, and to every individual who has ever questioned whether they are truly welcomed in the place they call home, Virginia LULAC wants you to hear this message clearly:
You belong here.
Your language is not something to be ashamed of.
Your heritage is not something you should have to hide.
Your family's journey is not something that diminishes your worth.
Your contributions matter, your voices deserve to be heard, and your presence enriches the Commonwealth we all share.
You are our neighbors. You are our friends. You are our families. You are an essential part of the communities that make Virginia home.
And Virginia LULAC stands with you.
We will continue to advocate for a Commonwealth where immigrant families are treated with dignity, where civil rights are respected, and where every community has the opportunity to thrive without fear of discrimination or unlawful intimidation.
Alexandria's leaders, institutions, and residents have an opportunity to reaffirm the values that should unite us all: compassion, respect, fairness, and a shared responsibility for the well-being of our neighbors.
Let this moment become an opportunity to strengthen those commitments rather than allow fear and division to take root.
Let us demonstrate that our communities are stronger when we stand together.
Let us ensure that future generations inherit a Virginia where their backgrounds are celebrated rather than questioned.
And let us remind every resident that belonging is not a privilege reserved for a select few, but a principle that should guide how we treat one another.
Hate has no home in Alexandria.
Hate has no home in Virginia.
And no community should ever have to stand against it alone.
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About Virginia LULAC
Virginia LULAC is the state chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the nation’s oldest and largest Latino civil rights advocacy organization. Our mission is to advance the economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, health, housing, and civil rights of Hispanic Americans in the Commonwealth of Virginia and beyond.
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