MINNEAPOLIS— Among the groups that contributed to Donald Trump’s victory for the presidency are Latino men, despite Trump’s tough language on immigration.
During his campaign, Donald Trump said, “I will launch the largest deportation in American history.”
But despite such rhetoric, a CBS exit poll shows Trump winning the male Latino vote by 10 points.
That’s according to immigration attorney Esteban Rivera inflation was a factor.
“People couldn’t pay the rent, they couldn’t afford the groceries and they were worried,” Rivera said. “They thought Trump would make the economy better.”
Rivera says Latinos who are here legally but are not citizens have flooded his office with concerns since Trump’s victory. He said concerns include questions about detention and delays in naturalization processes.
Emilia Gonzalez Avalos told WCCO before the election that she fears her citizenship application will now take longer and that she fears Trump will make good on his promise to end birthright citizenship.
“I worry about the birthright of some of our children,” Avalos said.
Rivera says birthright citizenship cannot be stripped because it is protected by the Constitution, but any immigration cases could take much longer.
“Things that took six months before the Trump administration then took 12 or 18 months,” Rivera said.
State officials estimate there are about 90,000 undocumented immigrants living in Minnesota. There are at least 350,000 residents with Latino heritage.
Esme Murphy
