Trump Goes All In on Fear, Hyperbole
WASHINGTON – Tonight, during a speech in Phoenix, Ariz., Donald Trump delivered a speech on immigration. The grassroots group Florida Immigrant Coalition and Advancement Project, a national multi-racial civil rights organization, released the following statement:
“Time after time, Trump’s rhetoric makes clear that, if he were president, he would not see communities of color as people who belong in this country,” said Judith Browne Dianis, Executive Director of Advancement Project’s national office. “Trump built his campaign on rhetoric of hatred and racism. Since the beginning, his campaign has encouraged the marginalization of and aggression against people of color. Tonight he built on that rhetoric by using hyperbole, scapegoating immigrants, and pitting people against each other. He called for the hyper-criminalization of immigrants, mass deportation, and turning police into immigration forces. This rhetoric would not lead to making America great, but to dividing the country and instilling fear.”
“Donald Trump’s rhetoric has reached peak levels of extremism,” said María Rodríguez, Executive Director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition. “The policies proposed, and the tone in which they are presented, illustrate that Donald Trump’s vision is about stoking racist fears and fantasies, not about dealing with realities in communities of color. Fortunately, from Homestead to Duval, communities have built strong movements that are invested and active in the well-being of their neighborhoods. They are the future of the country, not the fear that Donald Trump is trying to spread.”
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Advancement Project is a multi-racial civil rights organization. Founded by a team of veteran civil rights lawyers in 1999, Advancement Project was created to develop and inspire community-based solutions based on the same high quality legal analysis and public education campaigns that produced the landmark civil rights victories of earlier eras.
