Thread: Republican field divided on Donald Trump's comments about Mexican immigrants

Republican field divided on Donald Trump's comments about Mexican immigrants

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, speaking at a recent event in Bedford, N.H., has dominated the GOP debate recently with disparaging remarks about Mexican immigrants.
(Jim Cole / Associated Press)



By David Lauter contact the reporter


More than two weeks after Donald Trump’s disparaging comments about Mexican immigrants, he continues to dominate the Republican presidential campaign debate and to divide his rivals for the nomination.
Initially, most Republican candidates tried to ignore him. But as major corporations cut ties with Trump over his declaration that some Mexican immigrants are rapists and drug-runners, and as the issue continues to fill the airwaves of Spanish-language media, more candidates have spoken out, separating into two camps.
Donald Trump's comments on immigration complicate GOP's 'Latino problem'

Those who hope to appeal to Latino voters, including the two Floridians in the race, former Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio, as well as former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, have criticized Trump.
On the other side, several candidates who hope to consolidate support among conservative voters suspicious of immigration, including Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, have defended Trump or avoided comment. A significant chunk of Republican voters have said in recent polls that they support Trump, who said as he kicked off his presidential campaign last month:
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“The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everybody else’s problems. When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best.... They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us.
“They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists,” he said, adding, “And some, I assume, are good people.”
Bush, who initially commented about Trump only in an interview in Spanish, stepped up his criticism over the weekend, calling Trump's remarks “extraordinarily ugly” and “wrong.”
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“He's doing this to inflame and to incite and to draw attention to his campaign,” Bush said. “It doesn't represent the Republican Party or its values.”
“Politically, we're going to win when we're hopeful and optimistic and big and broad rather than just ‘grrrrrrr,’ just angry all the time,” Bush said. “There is no tolerance for it.”
Rubio, in a statement, said Trump's comments were “not just offensive and inaccurate, but also divisive.”
And Perry said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that he was offended by Trump’s comments.
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• I want to ask LA Times to stop posting images and articles relating to Donald Trump. I refuse to use LA Times any longer if the racists hater Trump is still appearing on your front pages or in any articles. Please delete any current articles and please do not post any more Donald Trump...
  realist555
  at 4:08 AM July 07, 2015

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“I've said very clearly that Donald Trump does not represent the Republican Party,” Perry said.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee also separated himself from Trump, though more gently than some of the others.
“I would never besmirch all the people who come here,” Huckabee said on CNN's “State of the Union.”
“Sometimes, we get wrapped up in how many people are coming. The real question is, why are they coming?” Huckabee said. “If they’re coming because they want to be part of the American dream, if they want to come and share our flag, our interests, our language, assimilate into our culture because they believe in what we stand for, you know, then that’s the same reason our ancestors came.”
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie called Trump's remarks inappropriate, although he added that he liked Trump personally.
By contrast, Cruz, in an interview on NBC's “Meet the Press” that aired Sunday, said, “I salute Donald Trump for focusing on the need to address illegal immigration.”
Trump has a “colorful way of speaking,” which is “not the way I speak,” Cruz said.
But “the Washington cartel supports amnesty,” and the media want Republicans to attack one another, and “I’m not going to do it,” he said.
Trump has expressed surprise about the intensity of the criticism he has faced. “It's bad for my brand,” Trump said in an interview on Fox News in which he lashed back at several of his Republican critics.
“The crime is raging. It's violent, and people don't want to even talk about it. If you talk about it, you are a racist. I don't understand it,” he said.
Trump said Bush was “out of touch with the American people.”

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-...705-story.html

Border Reports Back Up Trump's 'Rapists' Claim

Ben Graham | July 3, 2015 1:52pm ET

Donald Trump has been under fire for remarks he made on illegal immigrants during the announcement of his candidacy. "The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everybody else’s problems," He said.

"When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best.

They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime.

They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."

While the remarks are certainly blunt, they're not inherently wrong.

Border Patrol seized just under $3.5M worth of marijuana from Mexican nationals in Arizona this past Thursday alone. There's also been 40 cases of sex abuse by illegal aliens this year, and that's just from what Border Patrol has posted as media releases on their website. A staggering amount of those cases involve children and minors.

Here's a few examples:

April 27, 2015 in Edinburg, Texas: Border Patrol arrested four Salvadoran nationals, all with gang affiliations and all sex offenders. According to the release, their crimes included sexual assault, sodomy of a girl, sexual solicitation,indecency with a child, and possession of obscene material. They were convicted of these crimes across three separate states: Alabama, Arizona, and California. Border Patrol also seized nearly two tons of marijuana while it was on its way to Rio Grande City, Texas.

January 27, 2015 in Calexico, California: 41-year-old Mexican national was arrested while he was attempting to enter the U.S. illegally. This man was a violent drug dealer who was convicted for attempting to have sex with a minor three-years-old or younger. He served just three years in prison for his offenses and was deported. He was prosecuted for re-entry.

February 26, 2015 in Tucson, Arizona: Statement reveals twelve significant arrests through the month of February. Three of the twelve were violent gang members, two of whom were previously deported. Five of them were all convicted sex offenders for sexual crimes against minors. The rest had extensive criminal records that included convictions for sexual abuse, battery with serious injury, domestic violence and child abuse.

The list goes on:

• June 22: 23-year-old Mexican national - Aggravated Felon Gang Member.
• June 3: 29-year-old Salvadoran national - “MS-13” Gang Member.
• May 22: Four El Salvadoran nationals and three Mexican nationals - Assault to Commit Sexual Abuse, Homicide and Injury Crime, Sexual Battery to a Child, Assault with a Firearm On a Law Enforcement Officer, Aggravated Homicide, and Sexual Assault.
• May 6: One Honduran national and two Mexican nationals - Sexual Assault of a Child.
• April 28: 42-year-old Guatemalan national - DUI, Larceny, and Taking Indecent Liberties.
• April 23: 38-year-old Mexican national - Attempted Murder and Kidnapping.
• April 21: 29-year-old Mexican national - Sex Offender.
• April 21: 47-year-old Mexican national - Lewd or Lascivious Acts with a Child Under 14 Years of Age.
• April 17: 23-year-old El Salvadoran (MS-13) - Sex Offender.
• April 17: One Mexican and one Honduran national - Sex Offenders.
• April 15: One Mexican and one Salvadoran national - Sex Offender and Murder
• April 13: 35-year-old Salvadoran national - MS-13 Member.
• April 13: MS-13 Member - Aggravated Sexual Battery and Indecent Liberties.
• April 10: Mexican national - Sexual Assault and Sexual Offense against a Child.
• April 6: 18th Street gang member - Sex Crime.
• April 3: 31-year-old Mexican national - Sexual Assault of a Minor under the Age of Sixteen.
• April 1: 26 year-old Mexican national - Indecent Liberties with a Child.
• April 1: Guatemalan national - Sexual Assault.
• March 27: Guatemalan national - Rape.
• March 24: Honduran national - Murder.
• March 24: Mexican nationals and one Salvadoran national - Homicide and Sex Offenses.
• March 24: Honduran national – Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child.
• March 18: Two Mexican nationals - Sex Offenses.
• March 18: 37-year-old Mexican citizen - Attempted Murder.
• March 17: One Male U.S. citizen, one Salvadoran national, and one Honduran national - Attempted Murder, and a Conviction of Indecency with a Child.
• March 6: Mexican and an El Salvador national - Gang Activity.
• March 6: 52-year-old Mexican national - Murder.
• March 5: 35-year-old Mexican national - Sex Offender.
• March 4: 26-year-old Mexican national - Sex Offender.
• March 2: Mexican national - Sexual Battery and Stalking.
• February 15: Mexican national - Murder.
• February 10: 35-year-old Mexican national - Indecency with Child.
• January 28: Mexican nationals and a Guatemalan national - Sexual Intercourse with a Minor, Sexual Abuse, and Rape.
• January 13: 53-year-old Mexican national - Homicide.
• January 12: 27-year-old Mexican national - Gang Activity.

However you feel about Trump, you can't honestly refute what he said. There are drugs being brought across the border. There are convicted felons and gang members coming across the border. There are sex offenders entering this country with undoubtedly ill intentions. It's the truth, and it's not any less true because there are those who wish to deny the facts.

See a clip of his remarks below:

http://www.mrctv.org/blog/trump-unde...-he-isnt-wrong