Commentary: From America's Voice Texas-During a weekend in which our country will celebrate the life and legacy of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr, many Americans will also have to grapple with the fact that the President of the United States is a racist.
Said Mario Carrillo, Director of America’s Voice Texas:
It should come as no surprise that someone who began his campaign by using derogatory and racist remarks against Mexican immigrants would denigrate entire countries like El Salvador and Haiti and the continent of Africa, but as Americans, we have to be better than that.
Where someone is born will never determine whether they deserve dignity. It’s outrageous that the President would have Americans believe that immigrants from certain countries are less deserving of an opportunity. These are not the principles that have made America the beacon of hope for millions of people from every single country.
Now all eyes on are on Trump’s fellow Republicans in Congress: Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, as well as Republican representatives throughout the state. Trump’s racism has a particular sting in the Lone Star, as we are one of the five majority minority states in the nation. The choice is yours: denounce President Trump and work on legislation that reflects the values of our country, like the Dream Act, or go down as enablers of a racist regime.
See also this New York Times op-ed from Governor Kasich and Jeb Bush, Jr. on immigration.
From the Congressional Hispanic Caucus: The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Chair Michelle Lujan Grisham (NM-01) issued the following statement in response to reports that Donald Trump attacked immigration from “shithole countries” like Haiti, El Salvador, and African countries:
“The President’s statement is shameful, abhorrent, unpresidential, and deserves our strongest condemnation. We must use our voices to ensure that our nation never returns to the days when ignorance, prejudice, and racism dictated our decision making.
“Our nation’s strength and the American Dream stem from our immigrant roots and diversity. This uninformed, zero-sum type of thinking has never led to prosperity for all, it’s only ever threatened opportunity for all.
“The Congressional Hispanic Caucus calls on every member of Congress to reject this vile statement, which erodes the moral fiber that binds us together as Americans. Now, Congress must set the example by rising above this comment and finding bipartisan solutions to the issues before us.”
From the Congressional Progressive Caucus: Washington, D.C. – Congressional Progressive Caucus Co-Chairs Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) and Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) released the following statement in response to racist remarks made this week by President Trump during bipartisan immigration discussions at the White House.
“President Trump’s shameful and racist remarks on foreign countries have confirmed, yet again, his blatant and willful embrace of the xenophobic, hate-mongering, and ignorant principles that go against our American values. From describing neo-Nazis as very fine people, to employing white supremacists and nationalists, President Trump is continuing his race to the bottom to garner the support of a small subset of his base.”
“Racist and hateful ideals have no place in our nation’s policy-making process or our foreign relations. These remarks must be condemned in the strongest possible terms and we call on our Republican colleagues across the aisle to join us in doing so. Speaker Ryan and Majority Leader McConnell cannot continue to claim ignorance and stay silent as President Trump denigrates allies and does lasting damage to our standing in the world.”