Leaders of five Latino and immigrant rights groups on Friday denounced former President Donald J. Trump's immigration proposals, calling his plan a constitutional overreach and a major threat to Latinos. He said it would lead to large-scale racial profiling and pose a threat to democracy.
In an interview with Time magazine this week, Trump described the arrival of migrants south of the border as an “invasion” and laid out plans for a massive deportation operation if re-elected this fall.
“There's no right way to be American and there's no right way to look American,” Boto Latino President María Teresa Kumar said, adding that Trump and his supporters are sending the wrong message to Hispanic voters. He added that
The event was part of an effort by the groups' political wings to better coordinate efforts to shore up Latino support for President Biden and other Democrats ahead of the November election.
Speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., leaders from Voto Latino, UnidosUS Action Fund, Mi Familia Vota, America's Voice, and the Latino Victory Project announced a total investment of $50 million. This is the largest amount spent jointly by groups to sway votes. This is a bloc that is likely to hold important keys in battleground state elections and parliamentary elections.
They argue that Trump began his campaign in 2016 with dangerous and dehumanizing comments about Mexicans and immigrants, and has only intensified his comments since then, when he became president again. The focus was on avoiding doing so, he said.
“Donald Trump is the greatest enemy of the Latino community and the immigrant community, but he is also the greatest enemy of all the basic elements of democracy,” Mi Familia Vota president Hector Sánchez Barba said at a press conference. Ta.
Trump's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
Although Latino voters overall remain Democratic, Mr. Trump improved his performance with Hispanic voters in 2020, gaining significant support in some areas such as South Florida and South Texas. Some analyzes say he opposes coronavirus pandemic regulations that close workplaces, and even if his administration disagrees with Latino immigration policies, he supports low Latino unemployment rates and support for Latino businesses. It turns out that his promotion helped sway some voters to his side.
Latino Republicans and leaders of Hispanic conservative groups say Trump was able to make inroads with the Hispanic community because of Latinos' trust in the Biden administration and Democrats to deal with the influx of migrants at the border. He claims that it is because he lost his.
“Hispanics absolutely support immigration, but they also want law and order,” said social conservative thinker Alfonso Aguilar, director of Hispanic engagement at the American Principles Project. He added that conservative groups are working on their own multimillion-dollar campaigns targeting Latino voters.
At a news conference in Washington on Friday, leaders of Both Latinos and other groups spoke about polls showing Trump in a “dead heat” with President Biden in the presidential race and the growing number of Latino voters. He pushed back against recent polls showing that his approval ratings are increasing. He supports more restrictive immigration policies, including mass deportations and border walls.
They said many Latinos are not following the presidential election and misinformation is rampant in the Hispanic community. One focus group of young voters in Arizona found that Latinos are very concerned about losing access to abortion, but Republicans have led efforts to curb abortion rights. It turns out that they were not aware that this was the case, Kumar said.
Leaders said the mobilization efforts are aimed at communicating the Biden administration's actions that benefit the Hispanic community, such as Friday's decision to make health care available to undocumented immigrants through the Affordable Care Act. Ta. The move comes after Vote Latinos said the focus – the group's findings show many Latino voters are either absent from elections or voting for third-party candidates. He is said to be considering it.
Janet Murguia, president of the UnidosUS Action Fund, said she believes Latin Americans' attitudes toward more aggressive immigration policies will change once they realize their impact.
“I predict that this will change,” she said, adding that the group’s efforts aim to educate Latino voters about who will work for them.
