THE FINAL COUNTDOWN
Both Vice President Harris and Donald Trump billed major addresses this week as their campaign’s “closing arguments” and they each presented stark contrasts, to say the least. Trump’s event at Madison Square Garden was a festival of hate, xenophobia, anti-semitism, anti-Black racism and anti-everybody racism. In reaction, America’s Voice Executive Director Vanessa Cárdenas said of immigration in the campaign’s final stages: “It is not about immigration status or legality; Republicans are clear that all Latinos and people of color – even the millions of U.S. citizens from Puerto Rico – are in the crosshairs.” AV went on to say that Trump’s “relentless anti-immigrant focus connects the core elements of Trump-ism and its threats:” 1) Stoking political violence; 2) The Big Lie 2.0 about a stolen election; and 3) Setting the stage for unsparing mass deportation, including separating families and targeting those deeply rooted in the U.S. For her part, the huge crowd at the Ellipse on the National Mall for her closing argument, heard Harris say: “politicians must stop treating immigration as an issue to scare up votes in an election. And instead, treat it as a serious challenge that we must finally come together and solve.” She went on to say, “we must acknowledge, we are a nation of immigrants. And I will work with Congress to pass immigration reform, including an earned path to citizenship for hardworking immigrants like farmworkers and Dreamers.” Check out additional AV campaign-related materials here, here and here.
TRUMP RALLY ATTACKS MILLIONS OF AMERICANS AS UNWELCOME IN HIS AMERICA
At the Trump campaign’s racist and authoritarian rally at Madison Square Garden, vetted speakers unleashed a torrent of rabidly xenophobic remarks, including an unhinged statement calling Puerto Rico, home to more than three million of our fellow Americans and an ancestral home to millions more in the mainland United States, a “floating island of garbage.” The rally was a choice. The vile, dehumanizing, painful bigotry was the point. AV immediately condemned the remarks in a joint statement with partner organizations Voto Latino, UnidosUS Action Fund, Latino Victory Fund, Mi Familia Vota, and Hispanic Federation, and in a statement the next day said that it’s no longer “about immigration status or legality; Republicans are clear that all Latinos and people of color – even the millions of U.S. citizens from Puerto Rico – are in the crosshairs.” Blowback to the racist comment has been fierce, with members of Congress, faith voices, Puerto Rican U.S. military veterans, and prominent Puerto Rican voices speaking out in condemnation (read more in our blog here). In a bilingual op-ed published at EFE Verde, Vanessa Cárdenas wrote that our nation faces a dire threat ahead of next Tuesday: the normalization of xenophobic rhetoric and its frightful consequences. But it doesn’t have to be this way, she writes. “To counter these efforts, we must mobilize, educate ourselves, and spread the message. We cannot afford to be silent or complacent; every vote is a shield against the violence incited by xenophobic agendas.” Read more here.
WAKE UP BORICUAS, WAKE UP LATINOS
In her weekly column, America’s Voice consultant Maribel Hastings writes that speakers at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally demonstrated that their movement’s prejudice extends far beyond undocumented immigrants. What motivates them is their open racism against minorities and people of color — even if they are U.S. citizens, like Puerto Ricans. “Trump’s disdain and mistreatment of Puerto Rico is not new,” Hastings writes. “His antipathy was evident in his forced visit to the Island after the devastating Hurricane Maria in 2017, when he threw paper towels at its victims,” and subsequently torpedoed distribution of FEMA recovery funds. At one point, Trump mused if it were possible to sell off the “dirty” and “poor” island, Hastings reminds. Despite these slurs, some Latinos, including Puerto Ricans, still support Trump, usually citing economic reasons. But Hastings warns that it would be a mistake for them to think that Trump’s extremism, including his mass deportation agenda, won’t touch them too. “They are not hiding the fact that they would deport U.S. citizens. Forewarned is forearmed. And Trump’s prejudice is an open secret. Wake up, Boricuas. Wake up, Latinos. No one is exempt from Trump’s extremism.” Her column was also published in several outlets, including La Opinión, El Tiempo Latino, and Hispanic LA. Read her column in English here and Spanish here.
THE POTENTIAL DEVASTATION OF PROJECT 2025’S ICE RAIDS
Hospitals, schools, and houses of worship will become vulnerable to ICE raids under a provision tucked into the extreme Project 2025 plan. Under current guidelines, these spaces are off-limits to immigration enforcement except in extreme circumstances. But under the Trump official-penned agenda, unleashed deportation agents would be permitted to carry out family separation in these sacred spaces. This is not hyperbolic speculation. During the Trump administration, ICE intentionally tiptoed around the edges of the sensitive zones policy, including detaining a group of immigrant men who were leaving a church hypothermia shelter shortly after Trump took office. In another incident, agents detained a child with cerebral palsy who had been rushed to the ER. Rosamaria Hernandez spent over a week in custody, until widespread public outrage led to her release. Read more here. Heading into Tuesday, Vanessa Cárdenas joined fellow Latinos Against Project 2025 leaders from People’s Action Power, Latino Victory Fund, LCLAA Si Podemos Fund, Climate Power En Acción, and Poder Latinx to reiterate the dangers that Latinos face under Project 2025. “Taking a wrecking ball to the U.S. economy, tearing children from their families, deporting U.S. citizens, and shredding the Constitution and our sense of common decency, Trump is selling his followers a dangerous vision of the U.S,” Cárdenas said. “In contrast, Vice President Harris’s closing argument is hopeful, inclusive, and clear about Americans solving problems together. It is time to stand up for what is right about America and vote to protect our values and our immigrant communities.” Read more here.
HAPPY NATIONAL IMMIGRANTS DAY
Facts: Immigrants are the life’s blood of our communities and the backbone of industries like agriculture, dairy, and construction, provide an outsized role in caring for our loved ones, educate our children, help revitalize dying towns, share their delicious cuisine, contribute billions in local, state, and federal taxes every single year, and will continue to be critical to future economic growth. Click here to share our graphic recognizing National Immigrants Day and help celebrate immigrants’ contributions to our great nation.
LET’S DEFEND IMMIGRANTS – AND OUR FREEDOMS – ON TUESDAY
Now is the time for eligible U.S. citizen voters to go to the polls to defend immigrants, including our family members, friends, coworkers and neighbors, who contribute to Arizona, Nevada, and the entire nation every day and are under threats that also risk endangering all communities regardless of legal status. Many eligible voters will also be casting a ballot this year for the first time. Whether it’s your first election or not, your vote matters, because you’re not just voting for your rights, you’re voting to defend a loved one. To assist eligible U.S. citizen voters who may have voting-related questions or concerns, the New American Voters campaign has recommended VOTE411, which includes information on early voting options, day-of-voting polling locations, and how to report any voting problems. As Vanessa Cárdenas wrote in her EFE Verde op-ed, “We can unite, educate ourselves, mobilize our communities, and activate our chat groups and comadre networks. Our vote is our voice, and it’s the most powerful tool we have to ensure that every person, regardless of their background, is treated with dignity and respect.” Let’s defend our communities on Nov. 5. Visit VOTE411 for more information.
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