On Tuesday, The Daily Illini published a syndicated cartoon about Halloween depicting a trick-or-treater in a “costume” climbing over a fence that reads “I’m going as an illegal immigrant!” Our students, alumni, staff and families immediately raised their voices against this graphic. The Daily Illini has since published an apology. However, the issue is not the limited time to review or production process. The issue is that an artist, a wire service, and newspaper staff all thought a cartoon denigrating human beings who have sacrificed so much could be seen as funny. It is not funny at all. It is offensive, tasteless, and above all, racist.

This cartoon depicts not only ignorance but lack of understanding about basic human rights. We have failed to recognize that the more than 11 million undocumented people who are in this country have left everything they have—their families, their belongings, their country, their pride in many instances—to find a better life. Today is another day in which an institution of power, in this case the media, offends an underrepresented group on campus, our DREAMers. These students, who were brought to this country as children, strive every single day to prove that they also have the right to be here. Without any federal or state financial aid, they are making it, they are achieving, and we are proud of them. We stand with them to voice our anger and frustration. This is unacceptable, and an apology does not take away the hurt this has caused to them and to us. In solidarity on behalf of the Office of Inclusion & Intercultural Relations,

Gioconda Guerra Perez, Director, La Casa Cultural Latina

Gigi Secuban, Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Director of the Office of Inclusion & Intercultural Relations