June 10, 2016 (New York, NY) – Hispanic Federation, Labor Council on Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) and The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) issued the following joint statement condemning presumptive Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump’s recent attacks on U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel:
“Mr. Trump has made baseless accusations that Judge Curiel, an American-born jurist of Mexican descent, has ‘an absolute conflict’ presiding over litigation regarding Trump University because of his heritage and Mr. Trump’s plan to ‘build a wall’ on the U.S.-Mexico border. These accusations are an affront to all fair-minded Americans.
Judge Curiel’s track record as a prosecutor and judge is beyond reproach and has rightfully earned him accolades from republicans and democrats alike. We demand that Mr. Trump retract his unfounded and slanderous attacks on Judge Curiel immediately. We would remind him that the Latino community will not be silent in the face of his continued attacks on our community.
“In what has become an all-too-common theme during his campaign, Mr. Trump has again resorted to invective and vilification against someone whom appears to challenge him. His attacks on Judge Curiel, and the months of disparaging attacks against Latinos, immigrants and others, are unbecoming of anyone pursuing public service, let alone someone seeking to become the President of the United States,” stated José Calderón, President of the Hispanic Federation.
“In his latest prejudiced remarks regarding a well-respected judge, Trump conveys to all the daughters and sons of Mexican immigrants that their contributions to our nation are not valued equally—simply because of their Mexican heritage. This is a far cry from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream that we judge each other on the content of our character, not the color of our skin. Trump’s un-American message deserves the condemnation it is receiving and this type of rhetoric should not be tolerated in our country,” said Hector Sanchez, Executive Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA).
"Trump’s attempts to disparage and discredit Judge Curiel through his racist comments must not succeed. His attempt to recuse Judge Curiel based on ethnicity effectively turns our merit-based system on its head. Sadly, in Trump's world, one’s ability to perform a task is not based on merit or qualifications, but instead on race and ethnicity—such is not the American way,” affirmed Brent Wilkes, National Executive Director for the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC).”
