Leading Latino Advocacy Organizations Issue Broad ‘Indictment’ of the GOP as Complicit in Trump Administration’s Racism
‘The Party of Lincoln Has Been Corrupted into the Party of Trump and White Supremacy’
WASHINGTON, DC—Four leading Latino civil rights and advocacy organizations today issued a blistering “indictment” of the Republican Party as complicit in, and also enabling, President Trump, racism, and the ideology of white supremacy, calling for a united front for communities of color and white allies to stand against a rising tide of bigotry and hate.
The indictment, which lays out a long list of offenses by the modern Republican Party, was issued at a press conference today. The leaders of the four organizations who spoke were UnidosUS Action Fund President Janet Murguía, Voto Latino Managing Director Danny Friedman, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) National President Domingo Garcia, and Mi Familia Vota Executive Director and CEO Hector Sanchez Barba.
“Since 2016, the Republican Party has enabled the President’s bigoted and cruel agenda at every step of the way as the Administration has tried to rip away health care from hardworking Americans, purposefully subverted the census to undercount Latinos and other people of color, rewarded racists like Joe Arpaio with pardons, called violent White supremacists ‘very fine people,’ torn families apart, and put children in cages,” Murguía said. “And that’s just the warm-up act. The Party of Lincoln has been corrupted into the Party of Trump and white supremacy. So make no mistake: Bigotry is on the ballot this November and we have a chance—an obligation—to thoroughly and decisively repudiate this hate.”
Hector Sanchez Barba, Mi Familia Vota CEO and Executive Director said, “The Latino community is hurting because of the horrible mismanagement of this pandemic by Trump, his administration, and those in the Republican party who enable them. This election cycle, they will make their voices heard at the ballot box. Trump needs to stop saying that the election will be rigged just because the demographics of our country are changing. We call on honest GOP leaders to protect our ability to vote and to have those votes counted. Safeguard the integrity of our elections by making sure that every vote is counted. Challenge Trump’s dangerous statements saying that this election will be rigged. We must say Basta Trump this election cycle.”
“The GOP has never been shy about its feelings towards the Latinx community,” said Danny Friedman, Managing Director of Voto Latino. “Pete Wilson’s Prop 187 deeply affected me and my family as a direct attack on our community. Donald Trump, as he announced his candidacy, called us rapists and criminals. Since taking office, Trump, Mitch McConnell, and Stephen Miller have engineered ways to impose immense suffering on our community. We will not let them get away with the assaults they’ve leveled against us. We will hold them accountable and in November, 32 million eligible Latinx voters will vote to remove them from power before they can inflict more harm.”
“President Trump is again taking the low road in politics of playing the race card and using Latinos as political piñatas,” said Domingo Garcia, LULAC National President. “His constant damning indictment of Muslims, Blacks and Latinos divides America. LULAC sees the diversity of the United States as the very heart of what makes ours the strongest moral country in the world.”
The indictment calls on Republican leaders to stand firm against the corrupting influence of Trump, to believe in and work for “an inclusive and unified society, and a better and more diverse future for the country.”
Hispanics have been part of the fabric of America since its founding. Today, one in every five people in the United States is Latino, and the community at its core is defined by family, hard work, and service to the nation. But the pandemic has worsened the structural inequality of the country and laid bare the failure of the social safety net to work for everyone. Only 16 percent of Latinos can work from home, and they are overrepresented among the many essential workers helping the country survive during the COVID-19 pandemic. They will play a critical role in rebuilding once the pandemic ends.
At the same time, the brutal police murders of George Floyd and other Black and Hispanic men and women have led to national and global protests against racial injustice. UnidosUS Action Fund, LULAC, Mi Familia Vota, and Voto Latino stand in solidarity with Black Americans in seeking accountability and justice.
America is facing multiple crises and it will take strong political leadership and unified action from all its people—including its nearly 60 million strong Latino community—to help the country heal and recover. Latino voters want leaders who embrace the nation’s diversity, have a plan to expand equal opportunity, and advance real solutions particularly in the economic, health, and immigration arenas. Today’s Republican Party is not that, but it can be again.
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UnidosUS Action Fund (UnidosUSAF) is a Latino advocacy organization that works to expand the influence and political power of the Latino community through civic engagement and issue-based campaigns. UnidosUS Action Fund takes the courageous policy visions outlined by our sister organization, UnidosUS, and works to make them a reality. Follow UnidosUS Action Fund on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Mi Familia Vota’s mission is to build Latino political power by expanding the electorate, strengthening local infrastructures, and through year-round voter engagement. We are also training the next generation of leaders by opening opportunities through our Youth Development Programs and through our Mi Familia Vota work.
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights volunteer-based organization that empowers Hispanic Americans and builds strong Latino communities. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with 1,000 councils around the United States and Puerto Rico, LULAC’s programs, services and advocacy address the most important issues for Latinos, meeting critical needs of today and the future. For more information, visit www.lulac.org.
Voto Latino is a grassroots political organization focused on educating and empowering a new generation of Latinx voters, as well as creating a more robust and inclusive democracy. Through innovative digital campaigns, culturally relevant programs, and authentic voices, we shepherd the Latinx community towards the full realization of its political power.