Republican candidate for the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump, has been very vocal about his views, especially on immigration. Many people in the Latino community are not happy with some of the statements Trump has made.
Trump expressed his views on illegal immigrants, specifically those who migrate from Mexico. In his presidential announcement speech on Jun. 16, he referred to Mexican immigrants as criminals, rapists, and drug dealers. Trump later said he would not apologize for these comments since he believes that they are true. He also claimed that these statements were not racist
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Trump's immigration policy includes denying birthright citizenship, deporting illegal immigrants, and building a wall to separate the border.
Trump spoke at a campaign press event on Aug. 25. Jorge Ramos, a Univision news anchor was in the audience. Ramos had some questions for Trump regarding his immigration policies, which he believed had many false promises.
When Ramos stood up to ask his question, Trump immediately called for the next question, ignoring what Ramos had to say. Trump then told Ramos to "go back to Univision." Ramos was escorted out of the press conference. Ramos' question pertained to how Trump would accomplish his immigration policies such as deporting 11 million people from the United States, building a 1,900 mile wall between Mexico and the United States, and denying citizenship to children born in the U.S. These are definitely questions many people would like answers to—it's unfortunate that he couldn't simply answer it.
In an effort to promote social justice, many people on Twitter started to use the hashtag #LatinosUnidos. The hashtag was in response to the Trump vs. Ramos situation, and some of the harsh words that Trump has stated about the Latino community.
Many people had a lot to say about Trump, even Latin pop star, Ricky Martin. Martin defended Ramos in an Op. Ed. piece, stating that he was just doing his job as a journalist by asking a question. Martin also stated, "enough is enough" in response to Trump's xenophobic campaign speech.
Latin musicians such as Paulina Rubio, Marc Anthony, and Luis Fonsi had a lot to say in regards to Trump and the Latino community. Rubio stated that she is proud to be Latino and Mexican, and that Trump's campaign is based on hatred and lies.
Some of Trump's supporters have been ignorant about the situation. After the press conference on Aug. 25, one of Trump's supporters told Jorge Ramos to "get out of my country." When Ramos told the supporter, "this is my country, I'm a U.S. citizen, too." Two of Trump's Boston supporters beat a Mexican man with a metal pole, Trump's response was " the people who are following me are very passionate. They love this country. They want this country to be great again."
It's a toss up to where the Latino vote truly stands; some support him while others despise him.
