The leader of the largest federation of unions blasted the Republican presidential candidates for taking “a very ugly and dangerous” course discussing immigrant workers.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka released a video commenting on the ongoing and growing anti-immigrant and anti-Latino rhetoric made by several GOP candidates. He said pundits may interpret the candidates' statements differently, but his view is the remarks were not made accidentally.

"Many republican presidential candidates are expressing views and offering proposals that are nothing short of un-American. These republican candidates, who all want to run our country, have made a point of attacking and assaulting Latinos and scapegoating all Latinos," said Trumka, adding these the candidates have expressed "hateful and racist viewpoints...intended to demean and divide."

According to Trumka, the GOP presidential candidates' remarks are telling Americans that some people are "superior," while others are "inferior."

"This is the politics of fear and division, and it's entirely on a new level. But fear is not the basis of the American Dream. Hope is and solidarity is," added Trumka.

The AFL-CIO president acknowledged Pope Francis will visit the U.S. with a message of inclusion, community and shared values. Trumka said everyone needs to welcome the pope's message by not succumbing to fear but have dignity and respect for all.

Trumka's message comes as Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump heightened the immigration debate in recent months. Trump released his immigration reform plan, which called for a wall across the southern U.S. border, more Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, penalties for those who overstay their visas, and swift and mandatory deportation.

He has also called for the end of birthright citizenship, a provision of the 14th Amendment granting U.S. citizenship to U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants. It is with the discussion of birthright citizenship, the term "anchor babies" have resurfaced, viewed as a derogatory phrase toward children and immigrants. Trump has defended his right to use the term, and other candidates have followed his lead with either ending birthright citizenship or saying "anchor babies."

The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), which comprises of 40 national nonpartisan Latino organization, issued a letter to all presidential candidates about the latest anti-immigrant rhetoric to end birthright citizenship.

"[A] policy to end citizenship by birth would likely create an underclass of Latinos and Latinas who would be subject to discrimination or other adverse treatment based on ethnicity, national origin, or race, but without the protections of citizenship. The dangerous result would be a population of stateless individuals and a dramatic increase in the 'undocumented' population by creating a caste of people unable to prove citizenship based on their birthplace," the NHLA wrote.

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For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Politics Editor Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.

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