Once again Donald Trump is attacking our community. He issued a campaign video featuring images of three undocumented men who were charged with murder. The first, Francisco Sanchez, was charged last month with the fatal shooting of 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle in San Francisco. The second man is Santana Gaona, who was convicted earlier this year for a 2011 murder. The third, Brian Omar Hyde, was charged with murdering his aunt, his pregnant cousin and another man.
Trump is using these violent criminals to whip up his base. His subliminal message isn't just that these are bad guys (which, of course they are, and must be punished according to the law), but he continues to tie the criminal element in with the Latino community. These men are killers and they're Latino immigrants. Therefore, all Latino immigrants are potential killers. That is as ridiculous and unfair as claiming that Timothy McVeigh (the Oklahoma bomber) or James Holmes (the Aurora theater shooter) represent every white, American male.
Well, I don't want to play this attack game. It's undignified and negative. I don't want to be part of the political mud-slinging. I want to be positive. I want to celebrate the heroes of this country, the men and women of our community who make us proud. The Latino heroes, who stepped up after 9/11 to fight for this nation's freedom.
In a speech he gave on July 8th 2004, President Bush declared 'Some 85,000 Latinos have served in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. More than 100 have given their lives. Over 400 have been injured in combat. Our nation will never forget their service and their sacrifice to our security and to our freedom.' By 2009, a total of 502 brave Latinos gave their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many Latinos were decorated. Five of the 21 recipients of the Navy Cross were Latinos.
Donald Trump plans to rescind the Dream Act. Yet, the US military supports it. Why? Because currently there are thousands of men and women in uniform who weren't born in the United States, yet they are willing to sacrifice everything for our country. The Department of Defense understands the importance of the foreign-born to our fighting forces. The U.S. military has also implemented programs to encourage the enlistment and rapid naturalization of non‐citizens who serve honorably during a time of conflict. Without the contributions of immigrants, the military could not meet its recruiting goals and could not fill its need for foreign‐language translators, interpreters, and cultural experts.
In fact, one of the first members of the fighting forces to die in Iraq was Lance Cpl. Jose Gutierrez, an Immigrant From Guatemala who came to this country illegally. He was killed in a tank battle in southern Iraq on March 21 and was granted Citizenship Posthumously. By mid‐2009, more than 119 immigrant military members had earned their citizenship posthumously after dying in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Latinos certainly didn't renege on their obligations. We participated at all levels of the war, including those who paid the ultimate price. So, let's stop the name calling. Let's stop sending out this malignant message that we're all bad. President Bush said their service and sacrifice will never be forgotten. As another anniversary of 9/11 approaches, I am remembering and honoring them. Our presidential candidates should do so too.