LAS VEGAS (AP) – Minutes after Donald Trump delivered a standard warning during his campaign Saturday about illegal border crossings by drug traffickers and criminals, the former president tweeted that he was once in the country illegally. However, I heard from someone who said he was currently planning to vote for Trump.
Elias Trujillo was one of several speakers Saturday at the Latino Roundtable in Las Vegas, which aimed to highlight Trump’s economic ideas. Roundtable members spoke after President Trump finished speaking to a small crowd inside a women’s cosmetics company’s warehouse. Trujillo told how his mother brought him and his siblings from northern Mexico to Utah in 1995 to return to their father, who worked in construction.
“We came here legally, but we were able to overstay and live in the U.S.,” Trujillo said of entering the U.S. on a legal visa and not leaving after the visa expired. ” he said.
At least one person in the audience started laughing and clapping, and Trujillo laughed and admitted, “That’s funny.” President Trump looked at Trujillo and smiled.
The moment highlighted the contradictions between how facts and rhetoric about immigration play out in campaigns. The contradictions have become even more stark as President Trump has made his bleak views on immigration central to his campaign, while also counting on growing support from Latinos to return him to the White House.
President Trump has said immigrants “taint the blood” of the nation, called the recent influx across the southern border an “invasion” and vowed to begin mass deportations when he returns to the White House.
The day before the Las Vegas roundtable, Trump traveled to Aurora, Colorado, and issued a dire warning that Venezuelan gangs were terrorizing the city of 400,000, which attracts immigrants from that country. The city’s Republican mayor said Trump is distorting the city’s individual issues.
On Saturday, President Trump launched into his usual criticism of border policies, then pivoted to general praise for his constituents.
“Hispanic people say it’s hard to say, but I think they can do it. They have and have a great entrepreneurial spirit. Oh, they have so much energy. Just relax a little bit, okay? Don’t worry,” President Trump said. “You have great ambition, you have great energy, you’re very smart, and you just seem like a natural entrepreneur.”
After the Las Vegas event, Trump headed to Coachella, California, where he accused Harris of “bringing in an army of illegal alien gang members and immigrant criminals from the dungeons of the Third World.” There is no evidence to support Mr. Trump’s claims.
Trump began his first candidacy in 2016 by warning against “rapists” crossing the southern border, and since then, he has dismissed any apparent contradiction between his warnings about immigration and support from Latino voters. It used to be smoothing. Many Hispanic voters are in the country legally or have roots in the United States spanning generations and oppose illegal immigration.
The former president and Republican candidate has argued that his economic and immigration policies help Latinos and other minorities, often contrary to economic indicators, as he has promoted “black jobs” and “Hispanic jobs.” He has suggested that immigrants are taking away what he calls “jobs.” According to a recent Associated Press-NORC Poll, about 8 in 10 Hispanic voters say the economy is “one of the most important issues” during this election cycle. There is.
Overall, Hispanic voters are about equally likely to say they have a favorable view of Mr. Trump and his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. Trujillo said in his speech that while he was initially wary of Trump, he now supports the former president.
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Trujillo said her lack of legal status made her unsure of what she could accomplish, but “I had to make the most of my life.” He said he graduated high school, got married and now has two children, ages 12 and 5.
He opened a restaurant, but said high labor costs and product prices have made it difficult to operate, and he hopes President Trump will usher in better economic times.
“I’m happy that Trump has the opportunity to run again and hopefully get us back on track,” Trujillo said. “I think there is room to make America greater.”
Trujillo later said in an interview that her parents had overstayed their visas but had gained legal status. Similarly, Mr. Trujillo has been a US citizen since 2011.
He said he has come to understand President Trump’s vocal opposition to illegal immigration due to concerns about drug and sex trafficking.
But Trujillo said without reservation that he supports a way for people residing in the country illegally to obtain legal status, especially those who have worked according to the law.
“So it’s probably not going to be an easy road,” he said. “But there should be a path for those who are already in the country illegally but who have built a life for themselves.”
The proposal has been a feature of immigration reform policy for decades. Labeled an “amnesty” move by immigration hardliners, opposition to citizenship for people in the country illegally is part of what led to President Trump’s political rise.
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Riccardi reported from Denver.
