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‘Immigrants are poisoning the blood of our country,’ says Trump
He painted legal and undocumented immigrants with the same brush and promised to crack down on immigration once he returns to office.
Trump supporters welcome their candidate at a Dec. 16 rally in New Hampshire. / Trump campaign website photo
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump took aim at immigrants from around the world in a campaign speech delivered in New Hampshire.
In a seeming stream of consciousness ramble, Trump said, “They're coming into our country, from Africa, from Asia, all over the world. They're pouring into our country. They’re poisoning the blood of our country.”
Trump — who leads by far every poll against his competitors aiming to secure the Republican Party nomination — went on to say that immigrants “come from mental institutions and insane asylums.” He did not distinguish between legal and undocumented migrants, but painted them all with a broad brush stroke, and added that he would crack down on all immigration as soon as he takes office again.
During Trump’s term at the White House, rules for determining H-1B eligibility became much tighter, including greatly narrowing the scope of “specialty occupations,” and more demands of Requests for Evidence.
The former president’s remarks came as the Biden Administration is attempting to negotiate a funding package for Ukraine and Israel, which is being held hostage as Republicans demand more stringent immigration reform. The proposed package would largely eliminate immigration based on asylum claims, and allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement — ICE — to deport people without a hearing in front of a judge. The proposal would also resurrect the Trump travel ban.
Indian American political leaders roundly lambasted the former president’s remarks. Vaibhav Jain, chief of staff for the AAPI Victory Fund, told New India Abroad, “ Donald Trump is continuing to spew hatred in an already divided country. He is hell-bent on destroying the very fabric of this country, which was sewn together by the love and labor of millions of immigrants and refugees over 2 1/2 centuries. Immigrants are not poisoning the blood of our country. We are the lifeblood of this country. We have helped make America great always.”
Rajiv Bhateja, co-founder of They See Blue, told New India Abroad, “With their blood, sweat and tears, several generations of immigrants built the United States into the great nation it is today. It is hard to imagine what this country would look like without immigration. Today, immigrants can be seen at the highest levels of academia, science, industry, business, high-tech and government. Their entrepreneurship has help transform society and boosted the economy enormously."
“Mr. Trump's xenophobic rant seeks to further divide Americans and is repugnant even by his low standards. In fact, the vast majority of Americans are blessed to have been born with the blood of immigrants. That includes, ironically, Donald Trump who had a Scottish mother and German paternal grandfather,” said Bhateja.
The Biden campaign also slammed Trump‘s remarks, saying they echoed those made by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
Maintaining that Trump's comments do not come as a surprise, Harini Krishnan, national organizing chair at South Asians for America, told New India Abroad that Immigrants are familiar with the former President's dangerous, xenophobic rhetoric and his fascination with autocratic and white nationalistic politics.
"He told us exactly who he is when he was President. This is precisely why groups like South Asians for America will be doing everything in our power to turn out the Democratic vote in 2024 to help re-elect President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris," said Krishnan.
"Anyone who watched the Former President - who is facing more than 90 charges in four indictments - utter remarks which are dangerously analogous to dehumanizing Nazi propaganda, and still thinking that they will not vote in 2024 should think carefully about the dystopian reality that will await them if Trump wins a second term," she asserted.
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