October 24, 2018 (New York, NY) – Hispanic Federation President José Calderón has issued the following statement on the migrant caravan.
“Like so many Americans we have been watching the U.S.-bound caravan of several thousand Central American migrants with great concern. We are concerned for the migrants’ health, safety, and well-being. We know that the road from Central America to the United States is a treacherous one and that no migrant decides to risk everything without compelling reasons. If men, women, and children are fleeing their homes and families, they are doing so out of a fear that we pray most of us will never have to experience.
“Yet, alongside our concern about the plight of these migrants, we are also outraged about the grotesque and xenophobic way in which President Trump and members of his party are attempting to use this humanitarian crisis to stoke fear, division, and hate at home as a way of winning votes in the upcoming elections. Instead of offering aid and support, President Trump has attempted to characterize the movement of a people searching for refuge and the promise of a better life as an “assault on our country.” The president has even gone so far as to claim, without one shred of evidence, that hiding in the masses of fleeing families are dangerous operatives in the service of Islamic terrorist groups.
“By now, we know that President Trump is a congenital liar. We also know that many in his party abet these lies by either offering mild rebukes or dismissing them as misunderstandings. We are accustomed to this shameful spectacle. But when the president uses these nakedly racist messages to appeal to a certain segment of the American population and deploys his lies against some of the most vulnerable people in the Americas, it is impossible to remain silent. We hope that Americans of all colors and political persuasions agree that this is the worst kind of fear-mongering imaginable and beneath the dignity of our nation.”
