Thursday, September 1, 2016
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| Nayeli Rondin of Voces de la Frontera Action speaks as State Rep. JoCasta Zamarripa of Milwaukee and Christine Neumann-Ortiz look on. |
MILWAUKE – On Thursday, Voces de la Frontera Action held a press conference with State Representative JoCasta Zamarripa of Milwaukee, the first Latina elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly, reacting to Donald Trump’s much-hyped speech on immigration.
“Trump lost the election the day he announced his candidacy with vicious bigoted insults against Latinos and support for mass deportation,” said Christine Neumann-Ortiz, Executive Director of Voces de la Frontera Action. “Yesterday, Trump offered nothing new about his immigration platform, which is a shameful parade of prejudice, lies, and manipulation. Trump’s speech focused primarily on detailing how he would use executive action to implement a program of mass deportation. It is telling that Trump’s problem with our nation’s immigration policies starts with 1965, when Congress ended explicit racial immigration quotas based on white supremacy. For all his efforts to appeal to racism, Trump is no friend to white working class people. He has built his wealth on refusing to pay contractors and workers. He does not support a living wage or collective rights on the job. He criticizes trade agreements yet has businesses in China and uses visa programs that legally exploit foreign workers in the US. Trump is part of the corporate elite he claims to oppose, who have always used the politics of divide and conquer to set working people against each other. On the contrary, new immigrants help our economy and legalization would help all of us, by raising wages, tax contributions and spending.”
“My father is a pastor and has raised me to uphold the best values and to respect everybody’s humanity,” said Nayeli Rondin, 21, a member of Voces de la Frontera Action and DACA recipient from Milwaukee. “When Trump insults Latinos, he is attacking people like me, my family, and millions of others in this country, but he is also speaking against the vast majority of Americans who know we are far better than the racism and bigotry Trump has spewed throughout his campaign. Sadly, Trump is far from the only Republican attacking immigrant families. Senator Ron Johnson, Paul Ryan, and Scott Walker have blocked comprehensive immigration reform and deferred action programs to protect parents and young people from deportation. That is why so many Latinos are committed to defeating them and electing Hillary Clinton as our next President and Russ Feingold as our Senator, and ensuring we have more pro-immigrant, pro-working family leaders at every level of government. We are knocking as many doors as we can, making as many calls as we can, and making sure every family and friend who has the right to vote does so. The Latino vote will defeat Donald Trump and the anti-immigrant Republican Party he leads.”
US veteran and Voces de la Frontera Action member José Estrada added: “I have lived in this country almost 40 years. I was undocumented for a time but I became a U.S. Citizen through my family. I served in the National Guard for 24 years. On November 8th I am going to vote, and I am helping mobilize the vote because the racism that Trump is promoting is very dangerous for our community and the country as a whole. I will vote for Russ Feingold and Hillary Clinton because they will defend and expand Deferred Action and they believe in equality and the need to fight discrimination. Our future depends on who is elected. We all need to be talking with our family and friends to make sure that we vote for leaders who care about our communities.”
Voces de la Frontera Action members have endorsed Russ Feingold for US Senate and Hillary Clinton for President.
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