It takes great courage to stand up to your enemies, even more courage to stand up to your friends. But at what point will Republicans stand up and say to President Trump that enough’s enough?
On Dec. 12, the Trump administration decided to reinterpret a 2008 accord between the U.S. and Vietnam — an accord that protected Vietnamese refugees fleeing communist oppression from being deported. If Trump had his way, those same immigrants would be subject to standard immigration law.
I challenge anyone working in this administration to get up tomorrow morning, look himself in the mirror, and say with absolute certainty that he’d be happy being deported to Vietnam. Not one of them could do it.
Latino and Vietnamese Americans share a unique kinship. Joseph Cao, the first Vietnamese-American elected to Congress, and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the first Latina-American elected to Congress, were both Republicans. Today, I doubt either Ros-Lehtinen or Cao could get through a primary, let alone win a general election. Sad.
Instead of embracing immigrant communities, my party would rather embrace candidates who seek to promote policies that only push them farther and farther away.
I don’t know if it’s a symptom of power, or privilege, or fear, or some byproduct of callous political expediency, or a combination of all the above, but there is a distinct disconnect right now between the Republican Party and the nonwhite, non-English speaking world.
Immigrants and refugees have sacrificed everything in order to secure for themselves and for their families a better future. Every immigrant, every refugee’s journey is a hero’s journey, one that gets passed down from generation to generation. It becomes a source of pride, a reminder of how hard their family has had to struggle, of the sacrifices they’ve made to finally fulfill the promise of a new life in the land of the free.
Cuban and Vietnamese Americans, especially, have experienced unprecedented hardship, and when coming to America they have, historically, found a home within the anti-Castro, anti-Minh GOP. They’re culturally conservative and will always vote their pocketbooks. However, with the advent of Trump, that’s all started to change.
We used to refer to immigrants as “friends,” as “neighbors.” Now, they’re leeches, rapists, and murderers.
It’s time for a reboot. And all Republicans need do is look to our history.
When asked a question regarding the children of illegal immigrants during the 1980 Republican presidential primary debate, George H.W. Bush said, “I don’t want to see 6- or 8-year-old kids being uneducated and made to feel that they’re living outside the law.”
After winning the presidency, Ronald Reagan went a step further and offered amnesty to all undocumented immigrants who entered the U.S. prior to 1982. Bush 43 proposed changes to our immigration laws making it easier for people to travel back and forth across the Rio Grande to work legally in the continental 48.
Bush went on to win 40 percent of Hispanic voters, and re-election, in 2004.
As it stands, the U.S. is on track to become a majority minority country within the next 25 years, according to the U.S Census Bureau. Aside from it being the right thing to do, it makes solid political sense for the GOP to re-open their doors to the needs of immigrant communities.
Ninety percent of immigrants who come here aren’t looking for a handout. They don’t want to live their life on welfare. They want jobs. They want security. They, eventually, want to be able to own a home and settle down and pay their taxes and vote. They’re not criminals.
Yet, if Republicans and the Republican Party continue to act cowardly, refuse to speak out and stand up against the forces of demagoguery, if they can’t summon up a faint courage and take a stand against divisive nationalism, then the Republican Party is no longer the party of Abraham Lincoln. And if so, it deserves its place among the graveyard of ghosts of political parties past.
Joel Acevedo is a board member of the Brooklyn Young Republican Club and founder of the Sunset Park Republicans.
