LULAC Denounces President Trump’s Remarks Calling Undocumented Immigrants “Animals”

Washington, D.C. - On Wednesday, President Trump referred to undocumented immigrants as “animals” during a White House meeting with California leaders who oppose sanctuary city policies. “We have people coming into the country, or trying to come in, we’re stopping a lot of them. And we’re taking people out of the country, you wouldn’t believe how bad these people are.” Trump stated. “These aren’t people, these are animals.”

In response, LULAC COO & Acting CEO Sindy Benavides issued the following statement:

“Trump’s disgusting and dehumanizing comments further prove his clear intentions to incite hatred and fear within the American people. Irrational actions such as these will only fuel division in our country and move our nation further away from resolving our broken immigration system. He could have used his time with these leaders to think and talk through potential reasonable solutions. Instead, he decided to reduce a group of people to subhuman and therefore, open the door for violence and cruelty.

Unfortunately, during the Trump era, remarks such as these have become almost scarcely notable, but not to LULAC and Americans who understand the power of words. We will not allow President Trump to continue to use fear tactics to prey on our country’s most vulnerable communities and dehumanize them. We urge him to stop leading this inhumane charge to separate families and imprison asylum seekers. He must stop seeking laws that would make it easier to indefinitely detain asylum seekers, including children desperately yearning for a better life and protection from persecution, danger and corruption.

I remind President Trump that we are the United States of America, a country born out of immigrants. It is time that he stop playing to his base and lead with compassion, moral judgement, and live up to the pedigree of a President. The American people are watching closely. We are mobilizing and will exercise our voting muscle to fight back against injustice and hate.”

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The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights volunteer-based organization that empowers Hispanic Americans and builds strong Latino communities. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with over 1,000 councils around the United States and Puerto Rico, LULAC’s programs, services and advocacy address the most important issues for Latinos, meeting critical needs of today and the future. For more information, visit www.LULAC.org