Gracias a Dios! The most anti-Mexican president in recent history defeated
Donald Trump has done more harm to Mexican-Americans than any President in recent history. Anyone who cares about the Mexican-American community should welcome the electoral defeat of Donald Trump and the transition to the Biden Administration.
Slander of the Mexican people
Let’s not forget that Donald Trump started his first campaign for President in 2015 by slandering Mexicans and Mexican immigrants. “They are not our friend, believe me. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
Trump spoke about immigrants at the Southern border as “bad hombres” and “animals.” When an Indiana judge ruled against his company, Trump said it was because he was “Mexican.” He even baselessly stated that the “overwhelming” share of crimes in urban areas were committed by blacks and Hispanics. https://time.com/4473972/donald-trump-mexico-meeting-insult
Trump used his vow to build a (bigger) wall on the Southern border to incite his supporters at political rallies, scapegoating Mexico and Mexican immigrants for our problems. He even taunted the Mexican government by saying it would pay for his wall, repeatedly working his rally-goers into a fervor by asking them, “And who will pay for it?” “Mexico,” they would shout in response. This is simply not normal for a national leader.
In fact, over the last four years, Trump spent billions of American dollars on his wall, even though border security experts argued it was ineffective. He even diverted money from the military and emergency relief to spend on his border fences. It’s clear he used this obsession with the wall to inflame many of his nativist supporters.
Never before has a U.S. President so relentlessly targeted a U.S. ally for hostility and scapegoated its immigrants so maliciously for political gain.
Widespread racist attacks against Mexican-Americans and other Latinos.
The following four years after Trump’s inauguration saw a wave of racist attacks in public on Mexicans and other Latinos not seen in decades. People speaking Spanish in grocery stores – often U.S. citizens -- were told to “Go back where you came from.” Many Latinos were physically assaulted, their homes vandalized in ethnic-based attacks. There also have been an increased number of complaints of mistreatment of Latinos by law enforcement over the last four years. https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/2018/10/25/more-latinos-have-serious-concerns-about-their-place-in-america-under-trump
Trump never called out these racist attacks or expressed any empathy for the victims.
Trump’s war on Mexican immigration
And for millions of Mexican immigrants here, Trump’s Administration has brought fear, anguish and broken dreams on a massive scale. For four years, we’ve seen the toll that his administration’s policies have had on the Mexican immigrant population here. He deputized Steven Miller, Jeff Sessions and Bill Barr to carry out a virtual war on immigration from Mexico; specifically:
- Trump cancelled Obama’s program known as DAPA, which deprived status to 5 million mostly Mexican undocumented immigrants here;
- He repeatedly attempted to kill DACA, which would have cancelled status for another 750,000 immigrants; he was only stopped from doing so by the courts;
- The Trump Administration’s expanded deportation to remove thousands of families previously given a reprieve by Democratic and Republican administrations;
- His Department of Homeland Security jailed and prosecuted asylum seekers, and separated them from their children;
- In the course of this, he put kids in cages and many still have not been reunited with their parents;
- Trump has promoted an end to family unity, supporting an increase in the 20+ years most Mexicans wait to immigrate through family members;
- Trump even made it harder for domestic violence victims or military veterans to immigrate.
These policies of the Trump Administration – among many others -- have resulted in more Mexican families separated from their loved ones or further deferring their dreams of obtaining status in America. https://www.sonomacountygazette.com/sonoma-county-news/biden-vs-trump-how-they-differ-on-immigration-policy
Even worse was what Trump proposed behind closed doors, namely border patrol shooting or maiming immigrants crossing the Southern border. Here’s what was reported by his aides:
“Privately, the president had often talked about fortifying a border wall with a water-filled trench, stocked with snakes or alligators, prompting aides to seek a cost estimate. He wanted the wall electrified, with spikes on top that could pierce human flesh. After publicly suggesting that soldiers shoot migrants if they threw rocks, the president backed off when his staff told him that was illegal. But later in a meeting, aides recalled, he suggested that they shoot migrants in the legs to slow them down. That’s not allowed either, they told him.”
Conclusion
There has not been a President so consistently anti-Mexican in word and deed, since 175 years ago when James Polk took about half of Mexico’s territory after the Mexican-American War he incited.
The November 3rd election has apparently brought an end to Donald Trump’s Presidency after one term. I believe it’s a blessing for all those who care about democracy and good government in America. But it’s particularly good news for the Mexican-American community.
Joe Biden will put a stop to the anti-Mexican and anti-immigrant rhetoric, implement more humane immigration policies and attempt to restore the historically friendly relationship with the Mexican nation and people.
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