PRESS RELEASE
September 2, 2016
Trump Doubles Down on Immigration Stance
FRESNO—Earlier this week, Donald Trump gave yet another disturbing speech outlining his plans for the country’s immigrant population. His approach has been under scrutiny from the day he announced his campaign with a speech that labeled all but “some” Mexican immigrants as rapists and drug dealers. Since then, his platform has expanded to include proposals for empowering a special “Deportation Task Force” to round up and expel millions of people, as well as revoke the citizenship of 4 million people born in the United States to immigrant parents.
Other Trump proposals are even more alarming, from subjecting all immigrants to religious tests in order to gather information for a ban on all Muslims, to eliminating our country’s foundational law of birthright citizenship, the promise that anyone born in America can never be declared to not be American.
“We are greatly disturbed by the vitriol being disseminated by Trump and his campaign,” says Michael D. Evans, chair of the Fresno County Democratic Party.
To distract from his recent embarrassments, Trump flipped to attacking Hillary Clinton, transforming her policy promise of bipartisan immigration reform into a doom-filled vision of “mass amnesty” and “open borders.” The fact-checking organization Politifact called Trump’s analysis of Clinton’s plan “Pants on Fire.”
Even Clinton’s promise to provide aid and shelter for refugees of war and violence attracted Trump’s ire. He both claimed that the U.S. government is incapable of vetting such refugees and that the money Clinton has pledged for programs to help integrate foreign immigrants, some part of a total $15 million, is enough to “rebuild every inner city in America.” Trump has marketed himself as an expert businessperson, so this sounds even more odd when compared to his plan of an estimated $25 billion concrete wall along the Mexican border. As Pope Francis said regarding this issue, “A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not the gospel.”
Clinton, on the other hand, received endorsements from two more retired Four-Star Generals. They, like many before them, were drawn by her diplomatic experience and commitment to the global alliances that have made America the leader of the free world as well as being repelled by Trump’s past harsh treatment of military veterans. Trump’s chief policy adviser indicated that a Trump administration would end many government-provided services to veterans by moving to privatize the VA.
“Trump simply does not reflect American values,” said Evans. “We need competent, responsible, effective leadership now more than ever.”
The Fresno County Democratic Party is united behind Hillary Clinton for President. The official Coordinated Campaign headquarters is at 1035 U Street in downtown Fresno. To volunteer or for more information, contact 559-495-0606 or fresnocountydemocrats@yahoo.com.
