Protect immigrants from Trump’s racist cruelty

All four of my grandparents were immigrants. They came to the U.S. in the 1900s and could not speak English. They were seeking a better life, so they settled here, married, created families, and now I’m here.

Trump’s campaign reeked of racism and cruelty. Now — contrary to his campaign slogan to “make America great” — he has been provoking racism and violence against people who are different from the majority. He has been making America cruel, violent, polluted and corrupt.

When he attacks undocumented immigrants who were brought here as children (the “Dreamers”), he is not supporting the rule of law. Proof? He pardoned Arizona’s notoriously racist sheriff Joe Arpaio, who persistently violated federal laws by illegally targeting Latinos. Even when federal courts ordered Arpaio to stop violating laws, he persisted. Trump’s pardon shows that Trump’s real goal is not to support the law but rather to promote racism and cruelty.

Immigrants — my grandparents and millions of others throughout U.S. history — are what really “make America great.”

We should keep the immigrants and deport Trump.

This story was originally published September 27, 2017 at 5:51 PM with the headline "Protect immigrants from Trump’s racist cruelty."