Will Latino Voters React to Trump’s Anti-Immigration Rhetoric?
In 2016, immigration became a top policy priority for Latinos because of Trump’s anti-Mexican immigrant rhetoric and campaign. Throughout the campaign, Trump did not miss an opportunity to attack undocumented immigrants, Mexico, and our so-called open borders. On Election Day, Latino voters did not forget his scathing words: “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best…They’re sending people that have a lot of problems…They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists…” Unsurprisingly, Trump lost a significant share of the Latino vote.
In 2024, Trump is recycling his old campaign playbook, once again emphasizing the threat of “illegal immigration” and our open borders. At a campaign rally in New Hampshire, he claimed undocumented migrants were “poisoning the blood of our country.” During his debate with Kamala Harris, Trump pushed a baseless claim that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were abducting and eating pets. As president, he is promising to launch the “largest domestic deportation in American history.”
