Leftist groups are smearing and threatening a conservative Latino student, after he attempted to organize a controversial event to bring attention to the issue of illegal immigration. Students at the University of Texas had planned to host a game called “Catch an Illegal Immigrant,” awarding $25 gift certificates for catching student-actors around campus wearing “illegal immigrant” signs. The event was ultimately canceled in response to widespread backlash on campus and in the media.

The student in question, Lorenzo Garcia, head of the UT chapter of the Young Conservatives of Texas, admitted that the event had been in poor taste. But he defended the intention behind the event: “I acknowledge that decision to include issuing $25 gift cards during the event was misguided and that the idea for the event was intentionally over-the-top in order to get attention for the subject,” he said. “It is a simple fact that illegal immigration is a concern in this country and that it is one we must face.”

The original event does strike me as callous and ill conceived. But it is far worse to hear of the threats Garcia is now receiving at the hands of the radical left. As reported on The College Fix yesterday morning, Garcia “has come under extreme fire,” and has received “death threats and accusations of being a ‘traitor to his race.’”