Maryland State Police Investigates ‘No Illeagles Here’ Graffiti as a Hate Crime
Jenna Johnson, Washington Post, July 15, 2014
The Maryland State Police department is investigating as a hate crime anti-immigration graffiti written on building in Westminster that was briefly considered for use as a shelter for unaccompanied, undocumented immigrant children, according to the Carroll County Times.
The spray-painted message states: “No illeagles here. No undocumented Democrats.”
Lt. Patrick McCrory, commander of the state police Westminster barracks, told the Times that he considers the message a hate crime.
“This is definitely a racial, religious, ethnic incident,” McCrory said.
He said the message–which misspells “illegals”–likely went up Saturday night or early Sunday, and he said police do not yet have any suspects or witnesses. {snip}
{snip}
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is looking for places to house thousands of Central American children who have arrived on the southwest border since October and must be cared for while the government decides their future. {snip}
{snip}
But those children will not likely be sheltered in Maryland. The former Army Reserve facility in Westminster was briefly considered by federal officials, sparking swift and angry protest from Carroll County leaders. Similar protests have erupted in other parts of the country.
The Westminster site is no longer under consideration, an agency spokesman said Monday.
{snip}
According to the latest data from the Census Bureau, 93 percent of the county’s 167,560 residents are white, and less than 4 percent were born in another country.
{snip}