Actress America Ferrera wrote a public thank you letter to presidential candidate Donald Trump on Thursday, July 2 in Huffington Post’s Latino Voices section. She thanked Trump for sending “more Latino voters to the polls than several registration rallies combined.” Her letter is a response to his June 16th public announcement, in which he stated that Mexico was bringing drugs, crime, and rapists from across the border.
Ferrera was born in the United States, but her parents are immigrants from Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The actress thanked Trump for igniting a fire in the Latino community to vote against him in the upcoming 2016 presidential election. Ferrera pulled up statistics to let Trump know that he cannot win without the support of Latino voters. She informed him that “the Latino population grew by over 49 percent from 2000-2012, while the rest of the country grew by 5.8 percent.” She added that “the median age of the average Latino is 27 years old,” whereas the median age of the average white American is 42.
“The truth is, Mr. Trump, that your comments mean that you fail to see that immigrants are what have made this nation. They are at the core of our ideals, and they are the foundation that keeps us afloat. No, Mr. Trump, you may not reduce us to drug dealers and rapists,” wrote 31-year-old Ferrera. “We are moms and dads, sons and daughters. We are valedictorians and honor students. We are college graduates, bankers, police officers, entertainers, teachers, journalists, politicians and we are the future of America."
Rather than chastising Trump, Ferrera said that she wanted to thank him since his business partners like Univision and NBC who have the power would scold him “where it hurts.” NBC television network and Macy’s retail clothing company both recently ended their business relationship with Trump due to his politically incorrect remarks. Both of the corporations released press statements after online petitions quickly gained momentum. 733,390 petitioned for Macy’s to drop Trump on Moveon.Org, an online petition website and 218,968 supporters petitioned for NBC to fire Trump on Change.Org.
Ferrera studied International Relations at USC and is an award-winning actress. She is known for her roles in ‘Ugly Betty’ and ‘Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.’ She was commended by Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis for “helping to break down stereotypes and provide a role model for young Latinas” in 2007.
