How Donald Trump Energizes the Small Yet Confident Group of Republican Latinos in California’s Hispanic Community
On the second floor of the Hyatt Regency, swaths of special-interest groups welcome California GOP Convention attendees.
Light glints through the open-air atrium and onto a dozen or so exhibition booths, each vying for the attention of hundreds of delegates, committee sponsors, and special guests in South San Francisco to hear Ted Cruz make his case for the Republican nomination.
Cruz was already mathematically eliminated by his April 30 appearance, and he would bow out of the GOP race just three days later, but the Texas senator is still a favoring among Evangelicals and hardline conservatives wary of Party front-runner Donald Trump's temerity.
Volunteers donning cherry-red "Cruz '16" shirts ask for handwritten support of their candidate, extending similarly colored campaign stickers to anyone with a convention badge. Not everyone bites.
Some pause for a second. Others head straight for the exhibition tables, like one hosted by the Monterey County Republican Party. Their "Hillary (Clinton) for Prison 2016" cornhole set was a hit. The booth's motto is "Delete Hillary 2016," a not-so-subtle jab at the Democratic candidates email scandal, went over well with passers-by.
Guests are here for Cruz, sure, but few openly give their unwavering support. More than anything, they want someone to beat Clinton in a general election. Someone willing to challenge President Obama's abhorred national security and immigration policies.
Someone like Trump.
Why Republican Latinos Like Trump
A day earlier, anti-Trump protesters shut down the hotel's only driveway. They tested San Francisco's finest, inching beyond a police barricade, raising the Mexican flag and signs disavowing Trump's rhetoric.
The amalgam of participants was primarily Hispanic; thought at least a couple of were white, Asian, or African-American, some waving Black Lives Matter signs.
Latinos worry about Trump's plan to fortify the U.S.-Mexico wall and his notion that all Mexicans are criminals. His pledge to repeal the president's executive action on immigration risks deportation for some 11 million undocumented individuals living in the United States illegally.
Scattered amongst the Hyatt crowd are a small, yet confident group of conservative Latinos who support a narrowed path to citizenship.
They don't see Trump and Cruz's anti-immigration speak as derogatory. For them, it is a way of stabilizing the slumping U.S. economy by thoroughly combing over prospective residents to ensure they are asset rather than financial and judicial liabilities.
"We should be thankful we were allowed to come to this country, as foreigners," said undecided Latina voter Silvia Alvarenga. "It's embarrassing that we see (protests) in California because it's been worse than all the other states. If they're not happy with what is going on, this country allows freedom of speech, but burning the U.S. flag is very disrespectful."
Alvarenga initially leaned towards Cruz, if only for his biblical values. She accepted an invitation to hear Cruz speak knowing Trump always appeared like a better candidate in all other areas, ranging from the economy to job security to immigration. She sees the real estate mogul as a symbol of hope; a unifier of parties, misunderstood by Latinos and underestimated by liberal lawmakers.
"Republican leaders need to, not only in Washington but local leaders among the states, they need to embrace the Hispanic community because there are a lot of misconceptions," Alvarenga said. "They think they're racist, they think they're only about rich people. I'm not rich, but I believe we have values that far different from the Democrats."
She added, "The key here is the economy. We have the values, but honestly, God is in charge. If God chooses Trump, He knows why."
An Uphill Road for Votes
Admittedly, Alvarenga is in the minority of Hispanics supporting Trump. The number of Latinos in the GOP conference hall can be listed on a cocktail napkin.
Most feel Trump is a divisive figure. A businessman with praise only for himself. To many Latinos, the subtext of his "Make America Great Again" motto is to revert America to time when immigration reforms wasn't a prevalent issue, and Latinos weren't projected to be the country's predominate ethnicity.
Latinos surveyed in a Washington Post/Univision poll last February gave Trump a 64-point net favorability rating, compared to -5 for Cruz and +37 for both Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Seventy-four percent said Trump's immigration views are offensive while more than 80 percent held a "total unfavorable" view of him in general.
The poll isn't an outliner. NBC and Associated Press surveys throughout the election cycle consistently show Trump struggling with Hispanics, the fastest-growing voter base in the country.
Social Media Support
Facebook group "Latinos Who Support Donald Trump" is one of a fraction defending the presidential candidate's policies. Founding member Carmen Morales says Spanish media discourages potential voters who agree with Trump's views.
Last January, Morales said Latinos who support Trump "need a voice. I know so many who agree with Trump that you would be surprised."
At least five Latino notable activists and politicians endorse Trump. On Wednesday, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval -- Obama's initial pick for the Supreme Court vacancy -- announced he would the same solely because electing a Democrat is "simply not an option."
"I have a tremendous amount of respect for Gov. [John] Kasich and believe he would have been a great President," Sandoval wrote in a brief Facebook post. "Now that he has dropped out of the race, I plan to vote for the presumptive nominee although it is no secret that we do not agree on every issue."
Nationalism Among Latinos
Sacramento investor Mike Torres says Trump can win over Latinos, if Latinos from across Central and South America are willing to leave nationalism at the U.S-Mexico border.
"I like my people, but we live in the United States: We leave our traditions, our fundamentals in our countries and embrace this nation," Torres said, likening immigrants who reject American customs to house guests who ignore house rules.
The Mexico-born convention attendee said there is a lack of knowledge in the Hispanic community in regards to laws. Neighboring countries freely let people cross over where the U.S. waits with medical, educational, and financial freebies. This mentality isn't subject to a single country; rather it is integrated into a society with indifference to breaking immigration laws.
"It's all about respect. You want respect, you give respect," Torres said. "Unfortunately, the mentality of a lot of our people is that we don't respect. We just take things for granted, and they believe we're entitled to things because our government will give us that."
Torres said people are angry at government and a biased media painting with a partisan brush. The problem, however, stems from the individual's perception. If they are unwilling to change, always dependent of government solving their problems, then neither they nor country will see progress.
To Torres, Trump's campaign "has nothing to do with racism. It has to do with people," and improving one's self.
"It starts on me to obey and give what this nation has given me: respect, dignity, and the opportunity that my own people never gave me," Torres said.
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of latinpost.com