Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders criticised United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday for not inviting the family of Indian techie Srinivas Kuchibhotla, who was killed in a case of hate crime, to his first address to Congress.
Mr. Sanders accused Mr. Trump of stirring up fear and hatred against immigrants after he only invited the families of those murdered by undocumented immigrants in the U.S. He questioned why Mr. Trump did not invite the families of Kuchibhotla or of the black parishioners killed in Charleston in 2015.
Murder of anyone is a tragedy
“The murder of anyone is a tragedy, and our hearts go out to all families who lose a loved one to violence,” Mr. Sanders wrote in a post on Facebook two hours before Mr. Trump was set to speak. “He is stirring up fear and hatred against immigrants and trying to divide our nation,” he added.
“That is his political strategy and we must not allow him to get away with it. Trump, any murder is a tragedy. Don’t use these tragedies to stir up divisions by race and nationality,” he said. “But let’s be clear about what Donald Trump is doing in inviting family members who saw a loved one murdered by undocumented immigrants.”
Two of Mr. Trump’s guests, Jessica Davis and Susan Oliver, are the widows of California police officers who were shot in 2014 by a convicted felon who had previously been deported to Mexico, according to the Los Angeles Times .
The third guest, Jamiel Shaw Sr., is the father of a teen killed by a gang member who was in the U.S. illegally.
