Latino Children Scared of Donald Trump? Here's What They Think
- Ma. Elena
- Aug 19, 2015 06:00 AM EDT
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Donald Trump's offensive remarks against Mexican immigrants have its effects on the minds of Latino children.
In his quest to punish illegal Mexican immigrants and return them back to their country, the Republican presidential candidate has been a prominent figure in the Latino community, whose dislike for Trump has grown exponentially as days pass by, The New York Times' Héctor Tobar wrote. The business magnate has called Mexican immigrants as rapists, criminals, and drug dealers.
Hugo, the 7-year-old son of Mexican immigrants, is too young to fully comprehend what "rapist" means. But when asked to explain Trump's message, the child said, "Mexicans are ugly," the news outlet noted.
Hugo, who was born in the U.S., said that Trump's statement makes him "sad," and if he gets a chance to meet the presidential hopeful face-to-face, he would say, "Bad luck for you," The New York Times added.
Trump's aggressive statements against Mexican immigrants was supported by famous personalities, such as Fox News host Bill O'Reilly, conservative Ann Coulter, and Maricopa County's Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who joined the business magnate's Arizona rally on July 8, the news outlet noted.
Alexandra Rubalcava, 9, told The New York Times' Tobar that Trump's remarks are "pretty much rude."
"He said that Mexican people are bad people, that they want to sell drugs," the girl said, as quoted by The New York Times. "He wants to kick out the Mexican people from America and just leave the American people . . . Every one should be fair, and we should all be treated the right way."
When asked what is it about Mexicans that she admire, the young Rubalcava said that they work hard despite not getting paid. If she could speak to Trump, she would tell him that he is "unfair," the news outlet wrote.
She continued, "Because what if you were Mexican and someone else was you? And they're basically kicking you out of the world. How would you feel?"
Irene Huerta, a 24-year-old college student, said that Trump's resentment towards Mexicans is a sign of insecurity. According to Huerta, Latinos are excelling in school and Trump doesn't approve of it, The New York Times added.
The birthright citizenship policy is one of the debates currently taking center stage at the U.S. 2016 presidential race. Trump advocates scrapping automatic citizenship to the U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants, which has been in effect since the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution in 1868, Fox News reported.
However, Trump said that families with children born in the U.S. could still come back to the country if they are good people.
"We're going to try and bring them back rapidly, the good ones," he said, as quoted by ABC. "We will expedite it so people can come back in."
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