I’m part of the undocumented community. I am Latinx. I am a woman. I am also in pain. I feel sorrow and disappointment. I personally didn’t know Mollie Tibbetts, but God knows I feel for her family and friends. This is a terrible tragedy and my sincerest condolences go out to Mollie Tibbetts’ family and friends, for the community, and all those grieving. 

At this moment we are aware that political commentators are taking Mollie’s tragedy to fuel their xenophobic agenda by making this an issue of immigration laws. Why are we not seeing a conversation about the U.S. culture of violence against women, femicide, human trafficking, or hypersexualization of girls and women? Perhaps because the U.S. has yet to come to terms with its racist history and call out current political and media rhetoric that continues to perpetuate racist beliefs against black and brown communities, specifically the criminalization of these communities. Studies show that immigration is negatively associated with crime, put another way; crime has fallen over the last few decades despite the increase in immigrant population. 

Contrary to what politicians would have us believe, immigration status has nothing to do with the murder of Mollie Tibbetts. This tragic act of violence was the act of one man and is not a representation of an entire immigrant or undocumented community that contributes to the economic, social, and cultural growth of Iowa and the heartland. My comments are based on the information released as of August, 21st, 2018.