If one thing is clear from the last Republican debate, it's that the Republican presidential candidates believe that the best way to win the White House is to inject as much fear as possible into campaign. This terror-mongering goes against everything that America stands for and is a direct assault on Latino and immigrant communities across the country.
In one of the most telling parts of the debate, near the end when most people had had enough of the overblown rhetoric, Marco Rubio was asked a question about the economic impact of immigration. Rubio ignored the fact that economist after economist has found that updating our immigration system would bring significant economic benefits. Comprehensive immigration reform would grow our economy, help make Social Security more sustainable, create new jobs, and more. Of course, these points were nowhere to be heard at the debate.
In Rubio's answer, and what we heard echoed by his fellow presidential contenders, was that immigrants should all be thought of first and foremost as possible terrorists.
Mirroring the first ad that Donald Trump released earlier this month, Marco Rubio discussed the supposed national security threat posed by immigrants in order to make it perfectly clear that he's willing to demagogue immigrants in order to win the nomination.
When Ted Cruz responded to Rubio, he too linked immigration with terrorism and bragged that he's been drawing that connection even longer than Rubio has. Cruz reiterated his rigid opposition to any path to legalization -- much less citizenship -- for any person undocumented in the United States. From DREAMers to people who have been in the country for decades, raised their children here, Ted Cruz's anti-immigrant "plan" has only one answer: deportation.
By demonizing immigrants as potential criminals and terrorists, the Republican presidential candidates are souring the American people on immigration reform, making it even less likely that Republicans would support comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship. But even more significant, this disturbing rhetoric from the Republican candidates hurts all Latinos, whether one immigrated to the United States six months ago or their family immigrated six generations ago. Through the Republican debate, the candidates are fear-mongering in a way that increases discrimination and even attacks on all people of color. And it does violence to our basic American belief that all of us our equal, no matter where we come from or who our ancestors were.
Using fear and hatred in an effort to get elected president is a disgrace and it's an insult to our values. But sadly it's all we heard from Trump, Rubio, Cruz, and the other leading Republican presidential candidates on stage during the last debate.
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