«This Is America! Speak English!»: Mother and daughter were attacked in Boston because they talked in Spanish

According to prosecutors, two women in Boston began to beat, kick and bite the mother and her daughter, because they were speaking Spanish. According to statements of victims, one of the attackers shouted: «This is America! Speak English!»

Officials have filed criminal charges for crimes motivated by hatred against two women accused of the attack in the Boston area. Reported by the New York Times.

Mother and daughter spoke Spanish when we were walking home from lunch in the Boston area, where more than half of the inhabitants are Hispanics, while the other half were born in another country.

Suddenly two women attacked them in the street beating their hands and feet, according to prosecutors and his mother.

During the attack, women were required to speak English, according to his mother, who asked to be called only Vasquez to protect the identity of her daughter, who is 15 years old, and to prevent its prosecution.

On Thursday prosecutors filed criminal charges in crimes of hate against two 25-year-old women — Jenny Lee Innamorati and Stephanie M. Armstrong, both of Revere, Massachusetts, in connection with the attack on 15 February in East Boston.

Attorney Espinoza-Madrigal said the attack, which occurred about 8 p.m. near the train station. The attack was captured on video by surveillance cameras from a neighboring house.

The episode caused outrage in Boston, a city with a history of racial strife and violence.

«In Suffolk County is no place for hatred or bigotry, said Rachel Rollins, district attorney. — The defendants uttered those hateful and racist words, and then physically attacked the mother and her child because they laugh and speak Spanish, is outrageous and reprehensible!»

46-year-old Ms. Vazquez said Saturday that she still has nightmares about the attack on her and her daughter.

«It was horrible, ‘said Vasquez, an immigrant from South America who lived in East Boston for 5 years. — No one expects to be attacked just walking down the street.»

9 Mar Innamorati and Armstrong should appear before the court on charges of violation of constitutional rights with bodily injury, and committing assault by beating.

Authorities said the attackers, both women admitted to the police that they were drunk. The police report indicated that Innamorati and Armstrong believe that Vasquez and her daughter laughed at them in Spanish that they could not understand.

The report also stated that Innamorati and Armstrong started yelling at the victims before attacking them.

Lawyer Vazquez, Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal, said that law enforcement officials have charged only after they held a Monday press conference to draw attention to the cause.

Espinoza-Madrigal said Vasquez spoke with police the night of the attack, but then turned to him legal aid because he was upset about the slow response.

«Based on the details outlined in the original police report that was made at the scene, it had to be immediately labeled as a crime motivated by hate, said Espinoza-Madrigal, Executive Director of the Law office of civil rights, which fights discrimination in favour of people of color and immigrants. — The fact that this has not happened raises serious questions about the methods that law enforcement uses to identify crimes motivated by hatred and their disclosure».

The lawyer said that after the press conference, his office had learned from other Latin American victims who have been subjected to racist violence in East Boston that their cases are not properly investigated by the police.

The population of East Boston over the past few decades has increased by more than 50%, while the number of Latinos in 2015 increased to 58% compared to 1% in 1970.

«The experience of this family was not an isolated event, said Janelle Dempsey, another lawyer from the organization Lawyers for civil rights. — Acts of racism and xenophobia is alarmingly prevalent in East Boston.»

Detective John Boyle, a spokesman of the Boston police, said Saturday that investigators responded to the attack on Vasquez and her daughter the night it happened.

«We transferred this case to our unit on civil rights, which immediately took an active part in the investigation,»he said.

Boyle added that residents in areas with a high degree of immigration, such as East Boston, are supposed to report crimes, regardless of their immigration status. Boston is so-called «city-reserve», which limits the ability of local law enforcement agencies to cooperate in the transfer of immigrants for deportation by Federal authorities.

«If they do not have documents, we will treat them as the victim, and nothing else, ‘said Sergeant Boyle. — No one should be afraid to come to the police if they are a victim of crime».

Vasquez said, despite the fact that this attack has shaken her badly, she hoped that her charges will encourage other immigrants, even if they are undocumented, to report crimes to the police.

«No, — she said, — has no right to attack us!»

Source