A noticeable pattern is emerging in Spanish-language media, as it goes full-throttle after the much-coveted young Latino voter demographic. And much to Telemundo’s surprise, not everyone aligns with the preset immigration narrative.
Watch this Telemundo correspondent’s “are you kidding me” vibe as she interviews two young DACA beneficiaries who support President Trump:
PAULINA SODI: On to another subject. DACA beneficiaries, also called “Dreamers”, have become a symbol of the battle over immigration. But despite their legal status and the ongoing attacks by the Trump administration, there is a group of them, these Dreamers, who support the American president. Carmen Marquez spoke to two of them. Go ahead, Carmen, tell us.
CARMEN MARQUEZ: That's right Paulina. We spoke with two young DACA beneficiaries, and as strange as this may sound, they support President Donald Trump.
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MARQUEZ: How did your parents raise you? With what values?
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MARQUEZ: Are your conservative values more important to you than this side of immigration that puts your status in limbo?
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MARQUEZ: Is there anything you want to say to these people who will listen to this interview and are going to say, "how can it be that these Dreamers are supporting the Republican Party and Trump?"
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ADRIAN BARRON: There’s just a lot of us -and not just Dreamers but there are quite a number of Latinos who are Trump supporters- who are conservatives. No, maybe they don't support Trump, but they're conservative too, right. There are many of us. And many times we don't speak up because we're afraid.
As part of the run-up to the Supreme Court’s much-expected decision on whether President Donald Trump has the authority to eliminate the controversial program known as DACA (which was instituted via executive action by President Barack Obama), Noticias Telemundo Mediodía (the network’s mid-day newscast) ran a three-minute report on these two pro-Trump DACA recipients (also referred to as DREAMers), setting out to prove just how unfathomable if is that young, smart and optimistic Latinos support the Republican Party and Donald Trump.
While anchor Paulina Sodi and reporter Carmen Marquez spiked the report with orange man bad rhetoric like “despite their legal status and the ongoing attacks by President Donald Trump's administration”, “despite their legal status, there is a group of them who support the American president”, “How did your parents raise you? With what values?”, and the worst one: “Is there anything you want to say to these people who will listen to this interview and are going to say how can it be that these Dreamers are supporting the Republican Party and Trump?”, they both received a lesson on the values they were intent on mocking.
In the words of young DACA beneficiary Adrian Barron: “Just because a person has a different opinion doesn't mean they’re a bad person. It doesn't mean they’re someone who doesn't care about anything. There’s just a lot of us -and not just Dreamers but there are quite a number of Latinos who are Trump supporters- who are conservatives.”
Finally, in her mission to put down Latino Trump supporters, Marquez ignored the chance to discuss a frightening topic mentioned by Barron: “There are many of us. And many times we don't speak up because we're afraid."
Of course, that is precisely what this report was meant to be: a form of “peer pressure” for Latinos to be followers of the followers, not free thinkers. Those who don’t fall in line get the race-traitor treatment, as did these two young men.
Press on Expand to read the complete transcript of the above mentioned report as it aired over Noticias Telemundo Mediodía, on June 15, 2020:
PAULINA SODI: On to another subject. DACA beneficiaries, also called “Dreamers”, have become a symbol of the battle over immigration. But despite their legal status and the ongoing attacks by the Trump administration, there is a group of them, these Dreamers, who support the American president. Carmen Marquez spoke to two of them. Go ahead, Carmen, tell us.
CARMEN MARQUEZ: That's right Paulina. We spoke with two young DACA beneficiaries, and as strange as this may sound, they support President Donald Trump. We looked into their values and into their lives, to see what aligns them with the Republican Party.
(CHYRON: Trump has support among some dreamers)
SERGIO VELASQUEZ : Even if I get deported, it's not about me, it's about the American people
MARQUEZ: You're supporting a president who could deport you overnight. Do you live in fear?
ADRIAN BARRON: Yes, of course. I am not ignorant to the possibility that I may be deported.
MARQUEZ: How does your family view you? How do your friends view you when you tell them you're supporting President Trump?
VELASQUEZ: I'm a singer and when I came out and told everyone, “hey, I'm a Trump supporter”. Then and there, my followers, the people who wanted my music, left.
MARQUEZ: How did your parents raise you? With what values?
BARRON: There were definitely religious values. I grew up believing, knowing that abortion was immoral.
MARQUEZ: Are your conservative values more important to you than this side of immigration that puts your status in limbo?
BARRON: I like to see beyond just the status. Right, I like to see how the country is doing, because I love this country. I think that the solution to all this is, first to build the wall -a fence, whatever, right- to ensure that no more drugs come in and that there is no more illegal trafficking of humans, of children and women; that there is no more illegal immigration, (so as) to focus on the immigrants who are here and the families who are here.
MARQUEZ: Are you planning to renew DACA?
BARRON: Yes. Of course. Yes.
MARQUEZ: Is there anything you want to say to these people who will listen to this interview and are going to say how can it be that these Dreamers are supporting the Republican Party and Trump?
BARRON: Just because a person has a different opinion doesn't mean they’re a bad person. It doesn't mean they’re someone who doesn't care about anything. There’s just a lot of us -and not just Dreamers but there are quite a number of Latinos who are Trump supporters- who are conservatives. No, maybe they don't support Trump, but they're conservative too, right. There are many of us. And many times we don't speak up because we're afraid.
MARQUEZ: This is an example that Latinos in this country don't think alike, and it's a wake-up call to politicians seeking the support of this new generation. For Telemundo News, Carmen Marquez.
