12 Jun PRESS RELEASE: The forgotten Route 91 Survivors 6-12-18
For Immediate Release:
The forgotten Route 91 Survivors are finally being heard
Las Vegas, NV – At the Route 91 country music festival, there was a group of undocumented immigrants working that day. Regardless of their status, these people experienced the shooting like every other person that attended the concert. Some are still injured until this day, but all have been emotionally scarred for life.
Today, four of the survivors from that group met with Sheriff Lombardo in a private meeting along with North Las Vegas City Councilman, Isaac Barron and Director of Make the Road Nevada, Leo Murrieta. In this meeting, the members had the opportunity to share their stories exactly as they lived them on October 1st. Sheriff Lombardo actively listened to the horrifying stories and announced to the group his department’s move to add more people to review the U-Visa applications from the victims of the shooting in order to clear up the backlog.
This is a Victory for Make the Road Nevada and its members who have been working towards obtaining this meeting for many months. The survivors have also received help from others like Bilingual Behavioral Services (BBS) Counseling Center, Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada, the UNLV Thomas & Mack Legal Clinic, La Alianza Comunitaria Transnacional, and the Arriba Las Vegas Workers Center.
“The Sheriff took the time to listen to us while we told him our stories. He was in no rush, he let us speak and tell him everything. I really feel he truly listened to us, I just want to thank him because this is a huge step forward for me and the rest of the survivors” – Maritza King (Route 91 Harvest Festival survivor)
“Thank you to the Sheriff and his department, we now have more people working on behalf of U-Visa applicants in Clark County. There was only one person appointed to this task previously, but now they have acknowledged the needs of our community.” – Leo Murrieta (Director for Make the Road NV)
Make the Road Nevada (MRNV) builds the power of Latino and working class communities to achieve dignity and justice through organizing, policy innovation, and transformative education