They Thought the Net Was for Someone Else
Latinos for Trump got what they wished for—and more. Many apparently believed immigration raids would sweep up only the “bad hombres”: criminals, gang members, dangerous men hiding in the shadows. They never imagined the net might catch their neighbors, coworkers, relatives, churchgoers—or even them.
But what made them believe Trump would draw such careful distinctions? This was the man who opened his first presidential campaign by calling Mexican immigrants rapists and later warned that immigrants were “poisoning the blood” of the country. Those words were never limited to criminals. They painted an entire people as a threat.
America has done this before. During the mass deportation campaign of the 1950s, citizens and legal residents were caught in the same machinery meant for the undocumented. Papers mattered less than appearance, accent, surname and skin color.
That is the truth many refused to face: those here legally and those here illegally often look exactly the same. Once the government teaches its agents—and the public—to see brown faces as suspicious, citizenship papers may not protect you before the handcuffs go on.
They thought the raid was coming for somebody else. History should have warned them: the net never asks how you voted.