CLEVELAND — Donald Trump and his policies are well-known at this point — but what Latino and immigrant groups did not know was exactly how it would feel to see Trump espousing the same policies targeting undocumented immigrants on the stage as the Republican nominee.



They found out quickly, during a speech many Republicans described as dark, and Latino organizations found to be chilling and a sign that the recurring idea of a general election policy pivot is dead.

"He started his campaign a year ago with Mexicans as rapists — he starts his general election campaign with undocumented immigrants as murderers," said Frank Sharry, executive director of America's Voice and veteran of immigration legislative battles. "Pure hate and racism."

Sharry was referring to Monday's convention speakers who talked about a family member being killed by an undocumented immigrant, which Trump revisited in his speech.

"Nearly 180,000 illegal immigrants with criminal records, ordered deported from our country, are tonight roaming free to threaten peaceful citizens," Trump said, during a speech where he often yelled his lines despite having a microphone.

Many Latinos activists found themselves hit with the reality of Trump as Republican nominee and were fearful of the vision he portrayed of America, one they said was of demonizing the other and demagoguery of immigrants.

"Trump is trying to rally a nation around hate towards everyone who is not white," said Yvanna Cancela, political director of the powerful Culinary Union in Las Vegas, which counts 60,000 members, most of whom are immigrants, with more than half of them Latino. "That should be terrifying not only for folks who fall into these marginalized groups but for everyone, because it is not what this country is built on. It's not leadership."



Alida Garcia, a 2012 Obama campaign veteran who has spent years mobilizing Latino voters and now immigrants as director of coalitions and policy for Mark Zuckerberg's FWD.us, said Trump left no doubt that he would create a police state to round up immigrants.

"It's clear Donald Trump has no intention to move away from his frightening immigration policies of deporting 11 million people in 18 months and revoking the citizenship of U.S. citizen children, which would tank our economy and create a modern day police state," she said.



Erika Andiola, a national immigration activist and Bernie Sanders' Latino spokesperson, took issue with Trump allegations about immigrants and comments that he would appeal to the Vermont senators supporters because of similarities on trade.

