They are a voting block that is the object of curiosity and disbelief. They have been covered extensively by an incredulous media. They generate fascination as well as scorn.
They are Latinos for Trump — and their existence cannot be denied.
Although polls show Hillary Clinton with as much as a 50-point lead among Latino voters, Donald Trump still manages to get the support of almost 20% of Latinos. That’s nearly one in five of America’s largest ethnic minority group. So why would any Latino support the presidential candidate who has run the most anti-Mexican, anti-immigrant campaign in modern history?
Latinos actually support Trump for the same reasons that some other Americans do. Although their motivation may seem misguided, their support for Trump speaks to the overall diversity of the Latino electorate. Latinos for Trump are a product of factors both prosaic and complex.
US Latinos currently number around 55 million. The Pew Center estimates that 27 million of them are eligible to vote in the presidential election. These huge numbers encompass recent arrivals and people whose ancestors have been on American soil since it was part of Mexico. It encompasses bodega workers and CEOs. U.S. Latinos can be natural-born citizens or immigrants from more than 20 countries across Central and South America.
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