Classroom Resource Collection: The El Paso Shooting and Anti-immigrant Hate

UPDATED AUGUST 12, 2019, 9:15am

On August 3, 2019, news of two mass shootings, the first in El Paso, Texas and the second one in Dayton, Ohio, relayed around the world. While the motives of the shooter in Dayton remain unclear, reports about the motives of the perpetrator in El Paso have focused on a 2,300 word “anti-immigrant screed” or hate-filled manifesto. The New York Times summarized the contents this way, “It spoke of a ‘Hispanic invasion of Texas.’ It detailed a plan to separate America into territories by race. It warned that white people were being replaced by foreigners.”

Some scholars and journalists see links between the language used by the President on immigration and the language in the manifesto. Others have focused on the long history and threats from white supremacist hate and violence.

In a press conference on Monday, August 5, Trump condemned hatred which he explains, “warps the mind” and called for bipartisan solutions to hate and violence.

To help educators make sense of these issues with their students, we have collected a selection of news resources in the aftermath of the massacre. The articles raise a number of key questions directly tied to the Re-imagining Migration learning arc. They include:

What are the public stories of migration and how do they influence people’s perspectives and behaviors?

• What messages about migration are people hearing through media and thought leaders?
• How can we assess whether available public stories about migration are reliable and representative?
• How do stories of migration influence how people think and (re)act?

News reports about the massacre in El Paso

• El Paso shooting leaves 20 dead, 26 injured; investigators probing potential ‘nexus to hate crime’, Fox News, August 4, 2019.
• 20 People Killed In El Paso Shooting; 21-Year-Old Suspect In Custody, NPR, updated August 4, 2019.
• What we know about the El Paso Shooting, El Paso Times, August 5, 2019.
• Officials call El Paso shooting a domestic terrorism case, weigh hate crime charges, Washington Post, August 4, 2019.
• El Paso shooting suspect said he was targeting Mexicans and told police, ‘I’m the shooter’: report, Fox News, August 10, 2019.
• Dozens of Border Patrol agents and officers rushed to the scene of El Paso shooting, Washington Examiner, August 8, 2019.

Articles about anti-immigrant language and the shooting

• The El Paso Screed, and the Racist Doctrine Behind It, New York Times, August 7, 2019.
• How the El Paso Killer Echoed the Incendiary Words of Conservative Media Stars, The New York Times, August 11, 2019.
• In Aftermath Of El Paso Shooting, Police Investigate Potential Manifesto, NPR, August 4, 2019.
• ‘We are in a cold civil war’: MSNBC commentator says terms like ‘illegal immigrant’ inspire mass shootings, Washington Examiner, August 4, 2019.
• ‘How do you stop these people?’: Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric looms over El Paso massacre, Washington Post, August 4, 2019.
• The Right Way to Understand White Nationalist Terrorism, New York Times Op-Ed, August 4, 2019.
• When Fear of Deportation Keeps Families From Help After a Shooting, Atlantic Magazine, August 4, 2019.
• From El Paso to Christchurch, a Racist Lie Is Fueling Terrorist Attacks, Daily Beast, August 5, 2019.
• While Trump condemns white nationalism, his campaign Facebook ads lean on talk of migrant invasion, USA Today, August 6, 2019.

8 Chan and Online Forums and Hate

• ‘Shut the Site Down,’ Says the Creator of 8chan, a Megaphone for Gunmen, New York Times, August 4, 2019.
• Cloudflare severs ties with 8chan in the wake of shootings: site has become “a cesspool of hate”, Vox, August 5, 2019.
• What You Need to Know About 8chan, the Controversial Site Tied to the El Paso Shooting, Fortune, August 5, 2019.
• 8chan: the far-right website linked to the rise in hate crimes, The Guardian, August 5, 2019.
• ‘Enough is enough’: Cloudfare terminates 8chan, an online meeting place for ‘extremist hate’, USA Today, August 4, 2019.
• Remembering The 22 People Killed In Attack At An El Paso Shopping Center, NPR, August 6, 2019.

Impact on El Paso and Latinos in the United States

• Latinos Targeted In El Paso, NPR, August 11, 2019.
• Latinx Community Reacts To El Paso Shooting, NPR, August 11, 2019.
• For Latinos, El Paso is a devastating new low in a Trump era, Los Angeles Times, August 5, 2019.
• The Media Erased Latinos From the Story, Atlantic, August 9, 2019.
• More Hispanic Kids Are Depressed Than Their Peers As Anti-Migrant Rhetoric Rises, NPR, August 6, 2019.
• ‘It Feels Like Being Hunted’: Latinos Across U.S. in Fear After El Paso Massacre, New York Times, August 6, 2019.
• These are the voices of a border community hit by hatred, CNN, August 7, 2019.

Tools for Educators 

• Empowering Young People in the Aftermath of Hate (In English and En Español), ADL Education
• ‘This Is Not Going To Be Easy’: El Paso Students Start School In Wake Of Tragedy, NPR, August 12, 2019.
• Standing Up Against Hate, Teaching Tolerance (from 2017).