Presidential Candidates 2016: Donald Trump's Claims on Mexican Migrants Contradict Reagan & Bush's Support for Open Borders

Donald Trump, real estate mogul and TV personality, has been leading the polls in the GOP Presidential Elections. Trump's campaign is centered on illegal immigration, more specifically on illegal Mexican migrants.

His attention to Mexican illegal immigration has garnered both negative and positive attention, but the main question to ask is: Are his claims true? 

As cited by the Washington Post, Trump has made several claims about illegal Mexican immigrants, calling them rapists, criminals, and drug dealers. The billionaire has also announced his plans for illegal immigration, which seem to focus on building a wall around the United States to specifically keep sneaky Mexicans out of the country.  

Currently, voters strongly associate the Republican party with Donald Trump, due to his popularity both in and out of the polls. However, Trump's stance on illegal Mexican immigration is starkly different from two former Republican presidents, namely George Bush Sr. And Ronald Reagan.

Both Bush and Reagan depicted illegal Mexican immigrants as hard-working, family-oriented, value-driven people, reports Occupy Democrats. In addition, both former presidents supported open borders. In fact, Reagan was the Republican president that passed legislation, which allowed over 3 million immigrants to gain U.S. citizenship.

"Rather than talking about putting up a fence, why don't we work out some recognition of our mutual problems? Make it possible for them to come here legally with a work permit. And then, while they're working and earning here they can pay taxes here. And then when they want to go back, they can go back. Open the borders both ways," said President Reagan in the 1980's, reports Ring on Fire. 

On the other hand, Bush had this to say about Mexcian illegal immigration:

"The problem has to be solved. Because, as we have made illegal some kinds of labor that I'd like to see legal, we're doing two things, we're creating a whole society of really honorable, decent, family-loving people that are in violation of the law and secondly we're exacerbating relations with Mexico.... If they're living here, I don't want to see six and eight year old kids being made totally uneducated and made to feel like they're living totally outside the law. These are good people, strong people." 

In an effort to gain more support from the Latino community, California Republican Party members voted for a more lenient immigration platform. Their main concern, however, is that Trump's strong remarks and popularity will overshadow their efforts to show a softer side to potential Latino voters, reports The Sacramento Bee.