Washington, DC — One week from Election Day, and with Donald Trump making apocalyptic immigration lies and anti-Latino statements the centerpiece of his racist closing argument, below are three core points to remember about the interrelated ways his relentless anti-immigrant focus connects the core elements of Trump-ism and its threats:
- Stoking Political Violence: The escalation of dehumanizing rhetoric about immigrants has been the hallmark of the Trump campaign, which actively courts political violence. The Madison Square Garden rally showcased how the deadly white nationalist replacement theory is animating Trump’s campaign. As he does at every rally, Trump promoted the conspiracy theory, warning of a literal “invasion,” while his son, Donald Trump, Jr., explicitly asserted the replacement theory: “Rather than cater to Americans, they decided you know what, it would just be easier to replace them with people who would be reliable voters,’” said Trump Jr (Tucker Carlson also asserted “replacement” lies in his remarks). These comments came the same weekend as the sixth anniversary of the 2018 Tree of Life shooting, when a gunman motivated by the replacement theory killed 11 at a Pittsburgh synagogue because he heard that Jews were facilitating the “invasion” of the United States.
- Big Lie 2.0 – Undermining American Democracy and Laying Groundwork for Post-Election Challenges: The replacement conspiracy theory also is the connective tissue driving the Big Lie 2.0 – the myth about a plot by liberal elites to manipulate non-naturalized immigrants to cast fraudulent ballots to steal the election. It’s a pretext for both voter restrictions targeted at eligible voters AND a potential 2024 post-election challenge. There has been a greater than half a billion dollars investment spent on elevating the lie, boosted by the Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson as well as the Trump campaign, with the point of stoking fear of immigrants to undermine confidence in American democracy.
- Setting the Stage for Unsparing and Indiscriminate Mass Deportations, Including Targeting Legal Residents and U.S. Citizens: The lie that immigrants are existential threats and are intent to subvert our elections and democracy also lay the groundwork for Trump’s and Stephen Miller’s plan for the largest deportation operation in U.S. history. Former acting (and promised by Trump, future) ICE Director Tom Homan went on “60 Minutes” and described more chilling details about the unsparing nature – including U.S. citizens – of Trump’s pledged mass deportations: As Ron Brownstein noted of Homan’s remarks, “I’m not sure people are grasping the full implication of what he’s saying here: that to avoid family separation in mass deportation, Trump would also remove millions of U.S. citizen children-a prospect that takes his deportation plan much deeper into the realm of ethnic cleansing.” The supposed “invasion” and other lies justify what is promised as a “bloody” operation involving deploying the military on the streets of U.S. cities for mass round-ups. Of note, watch this powerful, and humorous, take by Jon Stewart and “The Daily Show” regarding Trump’s mass deportation plans and the dangerous implications for America.
According to Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice:
“Donald Trump’s demonization of immigrants and the related lies and conspiracies are the connective tissue he relies on in his closing argument one week out from the election. He paints immigrants as conspiratorial villains to justify his fascist ideas and uses them to stoke political violence to pursue power, undermine democracy and our electoral process and imperil a peaceful transfer of power. He has a plan – not just the concept of a plan, but a plan for indiscriminate, and unsparing mass deportations, including of long-settled immigrants, Dreamers, TPS holders, and U.S. citizens, and millions of others.”
Resources and Background
- Read from America’s Voice, “At The Garden and on “60 Minutes,” Pillars of Trump’s “21st Century Fascism” Campaign on Full Display”
- Read the joint statement organized by Voto Latino and signed by Latino leaders including Vanessa Cárdenas: “Trump Rally Unleashes Racist, Degenerate, and Dangerous Attacks on Latinos”
- Read America’s Voice, “10 Things We Know With Confidence About Immigration & 2024 Elections”
