Talk about the irony – a Latina actress named America blasting presidential candidate Donald Trump on recent comments he made describing illegal immigrants.
America Ferrera is best known for her television role on “Ugly Betty” and has been an outspoken supporter for Democrats and immigration issues. In an an open letter to Trump on The Huffington Post, Ferrera actually thanking him for his comments because it would be a catalyst for driving more Latin/Hispanic voters to the polls:
I heard what you said about the kind of people you think Latino immigrants are -- people with problems, who bring drugs, crime and rape to America…You see, what you just did with your straight talk was send more Latino voters to the polls than several registration rallies combined! Thank you for that. Here we are pounding the pavement to get American Latinos to the polls, while your tactic proves most effective. Remarks like yours will serve brilliantly to energize Latino voters and increase turnout on election day against you and any other candidate who runs on a platform of hateful rhetoric.
Ferrera then gives statistics on the average age of the Latino voter, how much the Latino population has grown in about 12 years and how these voters can have a massive impact on upcoming elections:
Latinos are the largest, youngest and fastest-growing constituency in the United States of America. That's right! You are running for President in a country where the Latino population grew by over 49 percent from 2000-2012, while the rest of the country grew by 5.8 percent. What's more, we are the future. The median age of the average Latino is 27 years old, compared to 42 years old for white Americans.
She chides Trump as being outdated and bigoted, and that the country is going in a totally different direction than what he is used to seeing:
You, Mr. Trump, are living in an outdated fantasy of a bigoted America. Last week, America celebrated some amazing milestones -- marriage equality, universal healthcare, removing of the confederate flag -- making it clear in which direction the country is moving. …Your negativity and your poorly thought out speech ignited a fire in our community. Thank you, Mr. Trump!
Thank you for reminding us that there remains an antiquated and endangered species of bigots in this country that we must continue to combat.
Ferrera was part of a pro-amnesty movie produced by Harvey Weinstein in 2008 called Under the Same Moon. Trump has yet to address Ferrera’s open letter, but hasn’t backed down from his original statements.
