NM State legislators, the state’s entire congressional delegation and local protesters stepped up criticism of the publication of a syndicated political cartoon, which many called racist, on the editorial page of Wednesday’s Albuquerque Journal.
The cartoon prompted a 30-minute critique from the state Senate floor and a swirl of social media criticism.
Journal Editor Karen Moses issued an apology and later said that there will be more scrutiny of editorial cartoons in the future.
The cartoon shows a frightened white couple being accosted at gunpoint by a terrorist and a member of MS-13, an international criminal gang whose members are primarily from Central America.
The husband tells the wife in the carotton: “Now, Honey … I believe they prefer to be called ‘Dreamers’ … or future Democrats …”
At the Roundhouse, Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, described the editorial cartoon as “highly offensive,” while other senators called for subscriptions to be canceled.
Journal officials say that the Albuquerque newspaper does not condone racism or bigotry in any form.