Commentary: The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) had the following reactions to the President’s State of the Union Address:
“It is preposterous for the President to assert that his administration has built a secure wall, when just five days ago the wind blew down parts of his wall down along the California-Mexico border, and a major tunnel was found underneath it,” said Domingo Garcia, LULAC National President. “Using immigrants and refugees as scapegoats-- to point of saying he wants a law to stop sick immigrants from getting medical care-- is a new moral low for this President when the bar was already hell deep. Presidents should bring people together instead of engaging in the politics of hate and demonizing the ‘other.’ Not long ago the ‘others’ were Italians, Poles, Irish, Catholics and Jews. It was wrong then, and it is wrong now.”
“The American people will not be fooled by the President’s fake news generalization of undocumented immigrants as violent criminals,” said Sindy Benavides, LULAC CEO. “These depictions only fuel the increase of hate crimes against Latinos which have been on the rise. The facts are clear: undocumented immigration did not increase violent crime but was in fact associated with slight decreases in it, according to the American Society of Criminology. America has always been, and always will be, a great country because of our immigrant heritage.”
About LULAC
The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the nation’s largest and oldest Hispanic 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, visithttps://lulac.org/