Ricardo Muñiz, 23, lives in Brooklyn. Illegally. He immigrated from Mexico because, his mother Jorgelina Aguirre says, he faced oppression there because of his sexuality. He faced oppression in the U.S., too: In July, Muñiz claims he was attacked by a one Jose Cruz, who allegedly followed him out of a bar in Flatbush after seeing him dancing with another man, screamed anti-gay slurs, and beat him with his belt in the early morning hours. And his reward for reporting the assault? Muñiz was arrested two weeks later at his job, and now faces deportation charges. He remains locked up.
The story would be incomplete, however, without mentioning police found Cruz badly beaten at the scene. Doctors placed him in a medically induced coma to recover.
Dan
I have a few issues with this article it seems misleadingly written to be anagonistic towards the police.
Queerty makes this story sound like someone is getting kicked out of the country for reporting a crime.
Apart from the fact that the guy didn’t really report the crime (if he was found at the scene)
The police are deporting him because he is an illegal immigrant, just because he was a victim of a hate crime doesn’t change this.
The police gave him some time after the incident to recover, which is more than they proably needed to do.
What else would you have them do? Should being a victim automatically grant green card status? I can tell you alot more crime would suddenly start happening if that was the case.
Mike
Dan, I agree that the post seems misleading. However, I think special consideration is needed when determining the deportation (talking in general here) of a victim of a crime since that would surely result in either similar victims not reporting crimes or the “victim” (opposite parties seem say they are the victims in this case) in this crime from testifying (if a suspect is caught and tried) against the basher. That only leaves violent bigot(s)/criminals roaming the streets of our country. Now I think the police, especially from a department in NYC, takes this into consideration. The problem here is that they don’t seem to believe Muñiz. If he (Muñiz) gets deported it would be because he might be found/pleaded guilty to assault, not because he reported a crime.
Edel
Dan are you KIDDING ME!!
hat else would you have them do? Should being a victim automatically grant green card status? I can tell you alot more crime would suddenly start happening if that was the case.
Edel
Ignore the last post but Dan are you KIDDING ME in stating that suddenly more crimes will start happening! This is something very insulting and ignorant. Crime isn’t linked to Illegal Immigrants.
William Day
Edel
That’s not what Dan was suggesting: He meant that ilegal immigrants would start reporting minor crimes that they would normally ignore, or even fake more serious crimes against themselves in an effort to obtain a green cared faster.
terrwill
In NYC there is supposed to be protections against those who report crimes if they are illegal in an effort to prevent crimes from not being reported………Where is big mouth Bloomberg on this one???
Dave
Wow…a criminal who is here ILLEGALLY being held for breaking the law. WHAT A STORY.
t money
dan i think you have the story mixed up. the guy getting deported isnt the one that was in the coma. the guy that beat the deportee is the one in the coma. the guy getting deported IS the one who reported it.
read it again. and continue reading.
there are such things as policies that ensure victims feel free to report crime. in LA it is spec. order 40. lots of cities have specific understandings and agreements for this type of situation.
also, there IS a specific visa for crime victims who testify against perps. its not handed out like candy, you must qualify, but it does exist.
t money
ok i read the article/link, and it seems more like a brawl than a gay bash. 2 old guys against 3 gays and one of the “gay bashers” ends up in a medically induced coma…
there is more to this.
Cristina
This article is completely wrong, I happen to know personally Jose Cruz, he is 65 years old, he didn’t reported the incident, was found at the scene, severely beaten, was admitted to Kings county hospital and stayed there for over a month, as a result, he has had multiples surgeries and have lost sight of his right eye. Muniz was arrested 20 days after the incident. If you think the pictures of Muniz showing a cut in his nose reflect any pain, you should see Cruz’s pictures! I think a full investigation from both sides should be conducted before anything is made public, this family has gone though so much and still strugling, Cruz is completely disabled, has lost a lot of his mental capacity, this is not the result of a fall as the mother of Muniz wants us to believe!