MIRA Blog
MIRA advocates for the rights and opportunities of immigrants and refugees. In partnership with its members, MIRA advances this mission through policy analysis and advocacy, institutional organizing, training and leadership development, and strategic communications.
The not-so-quiet town of East Haven, Connecticut has been the subject of a media firestorm in recent weeks. The initial story broke when four East Haven police officers were arrested following a three year federal investigation into alleged racial profiling of Latinos in the area. While East Haven Police Chief Leonard Gallo was not criminally charged in the investigation he has conveniently decided to retire, a decision that will take affect today.
It gets worse. When asked at a press conference on Wednesday what he was going to do about the mistreatment of Latinos in his community, Mayor Joseph Maturo responded, “Maybe I’ll have tacos for dinner.” Maturo later apologized and chalked his idiotic comment up to stress and fatigue.
In response to Maturo’s bigoted comment, Reform Immigration for America sent a symbolic batch of tacos to the Mayor’s Office the following day. The advocacy group decided that for every ‘taco’ text received by 69866 one taco would be added to the bunch. After hearing from thousands however the group settled on sending just five hundred. The tacos were later donated to a local soup kitchen, a donation that Maturo boldly took credit for.
While Gallo’s resignation is ultimately a good thing it has left people wondering what Maturo’s fate should be. While he is being held accountable by advocates and the media in the short term, what happens when the media coverage fizzles out? Making a statement like that, regardless of your stress level, is indicative of some underlying resentment and that should not be quickly forgotten or forgiven.