Activists in swing Michigan county are alarmed by Hispanic voters backing Trump despite his anti-immigrant rhetoric

Activists in swing Michigan county are alarmed by Hispanic voters backing Trump despite his anti-immigrant rhetoric

Dan Soza has seen the harsh realities of Donald Trump’s immigration policies up close and so he is alarmed that many Latino voters in Saginaw, Michigan, do not take seriously the former US president’s threats of mass deportations.

As a child welfare officer in Saginaw, Soza places young unaccompanied refugees in foster families and watched the Trump administration’s separation of children from their parents at the Mexican border in 2018 with alarm. He said the cruelty of that policy, and the former president’s threats against refugees legally in the US, should serve as a warning that Trump might do what he says.

“A lot of people who are Latino or Hispanic – whether it be in Saginaw, Michigan, or in the country – when they hear him say those things, they don’t think he’s talking about them,” said Soza.

“What really worries me is that people don’t remember their history. This has happened before. We’ve seen mass deportations before and when it happened American citizens were deported.”

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  • Asafum@feddit.nl
    772·
    1 month ago

    My goddamn Guatamalan immigrant coworker yesterday: “Kamala ruined this country, she let in all the illegals and they’re ruining everything. She did nothing to stop them!”

    Ignorant and brainwashed… Ffs.

    • kaitco@lemmy.world
      52·
      1 month ago

      That’s the key. Your coworker isn’t an illegal. They arrived the legit way (in theory). So, it’s those other dirty people who are ruining the country. Not the “immigrants”, but the illegals.

      So, of course Trump wouldn’t deport them, right? The GOP fully appreciates the difference between a Guatemalan who came here and has a valid Green Card versus a Mexican who crossed a river, right? The people who refer to all of Latin America as “Mexican countries” wouldn’t just round up anyone too brown and revoke their status?

      • Gerudo@lemm.ee
        68·
        1 month ago

        My in-laws came over the border illegally. They busted their ass and are now legal.

        They are voting for Trump, again, BECAUSE OF THE ILLEGALS COMING INTO THE COUNTRY.

        I shit you not, they love to tell the story of their struggle leaving a war-torn country to get here. Yet, they can’t comprehend actually fixing immigration vs. just build a wall. Fuck you got mine.

      • Asafum@feddit.nl
        10·
        1 month ago

        I tried to explain to him that a citizen is a citizen, their “remigration” plan to “denaturalize” a citizen could be applied to anyone. but naturally then he went on about the other favorite go to for the Reich wing “she wants to take all our guns!”

        • kaitco@lemmy.world
          9·
          30 days ago

          Brah…she’s got guns! 🤦‍♀️

          Walz is a regular hunter.

          No one is coming for the guns. Oy…

          • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
            6·
            30 days ago

            Also can we just admit we’ve lost the damn plot as a country when the fact that a presidential candidate and her vp are armed is seen as a selling point?

            • Ithral@lemmy.blahaj.zone
              2·
              29 days ago

              Depending on your general philosophy, and how you value various issues, anything could be a selling point to someone. It’s hardly a lost plot, a lot of people value the great equalizer. “God made man, Samuel Colt made man equal” -dunno who said it

            • LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
              5·
              30 days ago

              Thinking at all, they outsourced it to media companies run by the billionaires who want tax breaks so they can make more money.

              The money they make is insane, say they could save money on construction costs by buying in bulk. The top 5 in this country can build 100 $250,000 houses every day and give them away and they would still be making money… It would never touch the money they have currently… In fact they would still grow richer if they make more than 5% interest on the money they currently have.

          • Asafum@feddit.nl
            3·
            30 days ago

            That’s exactly what I told him lol he’s somewhat better than an actual Magoo in that he’ll listen to a degree, but I think he still falls for whatever right wing media he’s listening to at the time.

      • CaptDust@sh.itjust.works
        18·
        1 month ago

        I don’t understand how this can be an interpretation when trump and vance made clear they are indifferent if the immigrants are legal and working. They’ve pushed the point the springfield immigrant community shouldn’t be here, shouldn’t be supported, even if they came legally - it’s the wrong kind of legal. There’s nothing directing which ‘legals’ are good in their policy.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
      282·
      1 month ago

      I posted an article a few days ago about a guy who came to the U.S. illegally, got citizenship under Obama, was and complaining to Trump about how he can’t find workers for his restaurant while praising him and doing the full MAGA thing.

      Just made me facepalm.

      • Asafum@feddit.nl
        161·
        1 month ago

        I swear every day I get reminded just how fucking horrible and selfish a gigantic portion of humanity is. It really sucks. :/

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
          93·
          1 month ago

          That guy isn’t just horrible though, he’s super clueless. If Trump does his mass deportation, he’s going to have a lot more trouble finding workers for his restaurant than he does now.

          And I would put good money on him having undocumented immigrants working in his kitchen like virtually every other restaurant kitchen in this country.