The Hill
By Judy Kurtz
February 11, 2016
More
than 20 Hispanic celebrities — including “Law & Order’s” Benjamin
Bratt, comedian George Lopez and “Avatar” actress Zoe Saldana — are
slamming the entire GOP presidential
field for “capitalizing on negative stereotypes and inaccurate
information about our community.”
In
an open letter addressed to "the Latino community" and released
Thursday by the liberal advocacy organization People for the American
Way, the Hollywood stars write,
“In this year’s 2016 Republican presidential primary, the candidates
crossed a line.”
“In
trying to win the nomination, every one of the leading candidates dug
themselves into a deep hole pandering to the anti-immigrant base of the
Republican Party that
idolizes Donald Trump.”
Citing
Trump’s controversial remarks on immigrants when he launched his White
House bid last June, the letter says, “We must not, though, let Trump’s
xenophobia overshadow
the extreme policies being pushed by every single one of the GOP’s
leading presidential candidates.”
The
open letter, written in both English and Spanish, is also signed by
“Parks & Recreation’s” Aubrey Plaza, model Eva LaRue and director
Miguel Sandoval, among others.
“Latinos should understand that Donald Trump embodies the true face of
the entire Republican Party. Sadly, he speaks for the GOP’s
anti-immigrant, anti-Latino agenda.”
Other
leading GOP candidates, including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen.
Marco Rubio (Fla.), have “used dangerous divisive rhetoric and proposed
harmful policies
in their efforts to win over Trump’s radical supporters,” according to
the letter.
“Our
communities have the power to decide who wins the 2016 election,” the
celebrities write. “We hope that power is used to vote for candidates
who support our community,
share our values, and will fight for working families. Neither Trump
nor any of his fellow Republican candidates meet that standard.”
Guitarist
Carlos Santana said, as part of a separate statement released by People
for the American Way, that he was inviting the Republican candidates
“to utilize your
power of wealth, to restore, amend and heal your relationship with all
your sisters and brothers! It’s never too late to graduate from the
university of fear!”
Former “Ugly Betty” star America Ferrera also weighed in via a separate statement, saying, “It’s critical that all Americans, and especially American Latinos, stand up to the misrepresentation of our communities coming from Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and any other candidate running on a platform of xenophobia and fear-mongering.”
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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