Anti-immigrant rhetoric denounced by new ad campaign and Latino musicians

Why were the images of Donald Trump, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz on the Latin Grammy Awards?

YESTERDAY evening (Thursday, Nov. 19) on television, the Latin Grammy Awards was moving at a pretty good pace, lots of good music from attractive entertainers. Interspersed between the catchy latin rhythms and can-keep-still dancing beats were some serious messages.

The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and iAmerica Action aired a commercial as part of their national television advertising campaign that denounces 2016 GOP presidential hopefuls for using "hateful" rhetoric on the campaign trail, reports USA Today.

"We won't forget; in fact, we will remind them that we are more than 30 million eligible Latino and (American Asian Pacific Islanders) voters in 2016," said Rocio Saenz, executive vice president of SEIU International and president of iAmerica Action. "That's not a swing vote, that's a warning."

The six-figure ad buy will run in Spanish on Univision and Telemundo from yesterday to Sunday, including during the Latin Grammy Awards, reports The New York Times. The ads will also air in Nevada, Florida, Colorado and Texas, while the English version of the ad has been uploaded online.

"We will not accept hate," a voiceover says in the ad. "We will not allow anti-immigrant attacks. We will not support the status quo. Because if they win, we lose."

The ad specifically targets GOP contenders Donald Trump, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who have all promised to end the president's executive orders on immigration if they succeed in winning the White House next year.

"These candidates may be different, but their messages are all the same," the narrator says, after clips of Rubio, Cruz, Bush and Trump are played. "We will not accept hate. We will not allow anti-immigrant attacks."The ad was released on the anniversary of President Barack Obama's executive actions, which aim to protect up to 5 million undocumented residents from deportation and allow them to work in the country legally. However, Republican leaders have turned to the courts to stop the orders from taking effect.

Also, during the show, Mexican rockers Maná took the stage and sang the immigrant anthem "Somos Más Americanos" ("We Are More American"), for which they were joined by norteño legends Los Tigres del Norte. At the end of the rousing performance, the two groups hoisted a sign that read, "Latinos unidos no voten por los racistas" — "Latinos united, don't vote for racists." 

"It’s a privilege to vote," Maná drummer Alex González told the L.A. Times after the show. "In the United States, your vote counts. So Latinos need to vote for the candidate that will promote opportunities for Latinos, a candidate who will push for immigration reform, and fight for all the Latinos who works so hard."

Both bands have teamed up with the voter registration group Voto Latino to launch a voter registration effort called SomosMas2016.com.

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