Hispanic leaders upset after Trump’s speech
CINCINNATI — “Crushed.” ”Disappointed.” ”Confused.”
Some Hispanic leaders who have been advising Donald Trump say they feel betrayed after his long-awaited immigration speech that definitively ruled out a pathway to legal status for people living in the country illegally.
Trump stopped short of calling for the mass deportation of millions of people who have not committed crimes beyond their immigration offenses. But he also ruled out what he dismissed as “amnesty,” saying those who want to live legally in the U.S. will need to leave and head to the back of the line in their home countries.
“People will know that you can’t just smuggle in, hunker down and wait to be legalized,” Trump declared in his speech Wednesday night. “Those days are over.”
The language caught off guard a group of Hispanic faith and business leaders who have been advising him, often in the face of criti- cism from their own communities.
Now, some feel Trump misled them. “There’s several of us who have gone out on a limb, if you will, to try to at least be at the table of reason with him, and that’s left us confused and disappointed,” said Tony Suarez, the executive vice president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. He’s been among those pushing Trump to moderate his stance.
Alfonso Aguilar, president of the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles, had prominently endorsed Trump after initially opposing his candidacy. He, too, said Trump had signaled a willingness to moderate his immigration plans, including limiting his call for deportations to those convicted of crimes.
“At this point, I just don’t see how I can support him. So I’m withdrawing my support,” Aguilar said. “I was expecting something very different last night. I’m not naive, I knew who I was dealing with. I knew this could happen. It was a risk.
“From a political perspective, this is the end of Donald Trump. I really think now he’s definitely go- ing to lose.”
Trump’s campaign, however, insisted the billionaire businessman had never wavered.
“Mr. Trump has been consistent in advocating for an end to illegal immigration and he will continue to reach out and work with voters from all communities to defeat Crooked Hillary Clinton this fall,” said Jason Miller, the campaign’s senior communications adviser.
Those speaking out against Trump also included Jacob Monty, a Houston-based attorney and member of the candidate’s National Hispanic Advisory Council. In a Facebook post, Monty said he was finished supporting Trump after hearing the speech.
Mark Gonzalez, founder of the Hispanic Action Network, had also expected Trump to go in a different direction.
“We didn’t see compassion last night so we’re extremely disappointed,” he said. “We were anticipating something a lot more favorable.”
“He definitely didn’t help himself with the Latino community last night.”