In the wake of the 2016 presidential election, the United States has become more divided than it’s been in the last decade. This shows America needs to learn how to listen to one another because we live in a multicultural and diverse opinionated country.
Latinos are among the fastest growing demographic in the U.S. The number of Latinos eligible to vote has grown by 4 million since the 2012 election. They were a group that the candidates had to watch out for during the 2016 campaign, and Donald Trump made his views clear during a 2015 speech when he stated, “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. … They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people,”
This statement made it impossible to believe that any Hispanics would give Trump their vote. Surprisingly, Trump won 29 percent of the Latino vote. Since they’re a part of a group that Trump has constantly disrespected, what made them inclined to vote for him?
Reymy Vasquez, 27, from New Jersey is among the 29 percent who voted for the Republican Party in the 2016 election. Vasquez grew up in what he called a “rough” neighborhood in New Jersey, which consisted of a mostly Latino and Middle Eastern population where people weren’t always driven to excel. He also voted for the Republican Party in the 2012 election. At first, during the 2016 race, Vasquez was going to vote for Marco Rubio. Slowly he saw his views align with Trump and he redirected his support.
Vaquez states that his primary reason for voting for Trump was tax reform. His parents are immigrants from Honduras who fought hard to get where they are and they didn’t take assistance from the government or anyone. He feels that people in this country, especially people from “rough” neighborhoods take advantage of the aid the government gives them. His family now are homeowners and college graduates. Vasquez feels that society needs to glorify those trying to make something of themselves instead of pitying those who receive from government programs without contributing to society. He feels that Trump could help manage what tax money is being spent on so he can “start putting our money where it matters most.”
On the topic of illegal immigration, Vasquez supports Trump. He feels that as illegal immigration increases, safety decreases and Americans need to take care of that problem. Just as the president once said, Vasquez himself saw “many of those [Muslim] people take up their respective flags when the towers went down.” He feels like we need to, “focus on the problems that this country is having not the problems that others are, we should worry about ourselves and not everyone else.” He believes in strengthening America’s immigration system and making sure they are aware of the intentions people have as they enter the country.
To Vasquez, Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again” represents stability, the American Dream for truly hustling families, safety for Americans and putting America before anyone else.