The
presidential candidate’s rants have galvanized Latinos of all ages,
backgrounds, and political affiliations.
The
chips just keep falling. The Professional Golf Association is one of the latest
companies to part ways with Donald Trump. The PGA announced that it would not hold its Grand Slam
of Golf at a Trump golf course in Los Angeles, because of the business mogul’s
recent remarks about Mexicans and immigrants.
Other
companies that have dumped or distanced themselves from Trump since he treated
throwing his hairpiece in the ring as a reality TV episode include Macy’s,
NBCUniversal, Univision, NASCAR, ESPN, Farouk Haircare Systems, and Serta
Mattress.
The
list of celebrities is as long or longer and includes chefs José Andrés and
Geoffrey Zakarian, Dancing with the Stars’ Cheryl Burke and MSNBC’s
Thomas Roberts. Burke and Roberts were slated to co-host Trump’s Miss USA
pageant but quit in protest.
When
Trump’s compared Mexican immigrants to drug dealers, criminals, and “rapists”
during the launch of his presidential campaign, he brought on a refreshing
moment of unity for Latinos. We stood up against hate speech with
unprecedented results. We learned who are our friends are — and who they
aren’t.
“When Mexico sends its people, they’re sending people that have lots of problems,” Trump said during his unorthodox stump speech. “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.” He was wrong as well as offensive.
As
an immigration lawyer, I often find myself explaining that being here in this
country without authorization is a civil offense, not a crime. The
overwhelming majority of undocumented immigrants are in fact working hard and
leading productive lives.
A
study by the Immigration Policy Center found when undocumented immigration to
the U.S. rose during the 1990s, our crime rate actually fell. Border cities, such as El Paso
and San Diego, are some of the safest cities in the nation, and illegal border crossings are at a 40-year low.
In
other words, Trump should stick to real estate, because he is no immigration
expert.
He
did do a masterful job of galvanizing Latinos of all ages, backgrounds, and
political affiliations. We united to demand that networks and sponsors “Dump
Trump” — and it worked. Everyone from actress America Ferrera to Fox News Latino’s Rick Sanchez has celebrated our collective
stand against hate speech.
Yet
the response from some of our aspiring leaders has been
disappointing. Senator Ted Cruz, a Cuban-American candidate for the
Republican presidential nomination, said he thinks Donald Trump is “terrific” and “speaks the
truth.” Another GOP 2016 hopeful, Rick Santorum, said that Trump “focused on a very
important issue for American workers, and particularly legal immigrants in this
country.”
Ben
Carson also dismissed the groundswell of outrage.
The
Republican Party generally missed opportunity to make some positive headlines.
Lacking the courage to denounce The Donald’s remarks, the GOP squandered a
moment to show some political backbone and cultivate Latino voters.
Nearly two weeks after Trump’s comments, frontrunner Jeb Bush
finally weighed in. “I don’t agree with him. I think he’s wrong,” he
said. “It’s pretty simple.” Coming from a man who is married to a Mexican
immigrant and has Mexican-American children, these words seem awfully weak.
Marco
Rubio, another Cuban-American candidate, has been slow to weigh-in on Trump’s remarks too. While he
did eventually call them “inaccurate” and “offensive,” the Florida senator took
too long. Entertainers like Ricky Martin and Shakira denounced Trump weeks earlier. Calling out
bigotry should be a no-brainer.
Sure,
Trump may not prove to be a serious contender. But it is shameful that the
GOP’s 2016 bench can’t bring itself to wholeheartedly condemn his vitriol.
Trump
is leading or doing well in several national and early state polls. That’s why the
other candidates and all Republican leaders should be denouncing his
ignorance and xenophobia more forcefully. Their low volume shows that all the
GOP talk about becoming a more inclusive party, and welcoming Latinos, may have
been just that: Talk.
Trump
clearly doesn’t respect Hispanic voters or immigrants. Sadly, it looks like the
GOP doesn’t either.
Raul
A. Reyes is an attorney and columnist based in New York City. Distributed via OtherWords.org.