#IAmNotAnAnimal: Filipino/American anger mounts at Trump's ban on Filipino immigrants

Donald Trump's Maine rally was interrupted by anti-hate demonstrators.

I THINK Donald Trump just lost the key swing state of Nevada when he proposed to expand his ban on immigrants to include the Philippines.

At a Trump rally in Portland, Maine, last week, the GOP candidate for President of the U.S. expanded his initial proposal to ban all Muslim immigration when he said he would stop immigration from countries where terrorists are active, including the Philippines.

Granted: Abu Sayyef with ties to al Queda is active in the Philippines, but a ban on Filipino immigration -- which already has a 23-year wait list and where 90 percent of its population is Christian -- would be akin to banning Oregonians from traveling beyond the state's own borders because it is a haven for armed anti-government white supremacist terrorists.

“An illegal permanent resident from the Philippines were convicted for plotting to join Al Qaeda and the Taliban in order to kill as many Americans as possible,” Trump said.

He is most likely referring to the case of Ralph Kenneth DeLeon, who was found guilty in early 2015 by a US district judge from California of two counts of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and one count of conspiring to kill American troops and conspiring to receive military training from al-Qaida. He is now serving 25 years imprisonment.

“We’re dealing with animals," Trump declared.

“We must immediately suspend immigration from any nation that has been compromised by terrorism until such time as proven vetting mechanisms have been put in place,” Trump said. “We don’t want them in our country.”

On Meet the Press over the weekend, host Chuck Todd asked Trump if his proposed immigraiton ban would include countries like France and Belgium which have suffered terrorist attacks in recent years, Trump declined to answer.

RELATED: Trump would limit immigration from the Philippines

Why did I mention Nevada? Filipinos make up more than half of the Asian/American population, or 120,000. Although many aren’t registered voters, an aggressive voter registration drive is underway in the AAPI communities that would increase the number of voters substantially.

"We are the biggest Asian community population here in Nevada," said Cynthia Diriquito, Executive Director of The National Federation of Filipino-American Associations-Nevada.

"We are trying to mobilize the force of the Filipinos here in the United States to become registered voters, and for our voices to be heard," Diriquito said.

In a swing state like Nevada, every vote counts and the Filipino vote - spurred by anti-Filipino, anti-immigrant rhetoric - could tilt the election towards the Democrats.

Meanwhile, as word of Trump's proposal spreads, anger mounts in the Filipino/American community. 

Jason Tengco

"Donald Trump's latest proposal to renew his call to ban Muslims from entering the U.S., as well as ban immigration from countries like the Philippines, shows once again that he is temperamentally unfit and unqualified to be president," said Jason Tengco, Hillary for America's National Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Outreach Director.

"As a proud Filipino/American, I am deeply concerned that families like mine who immigrated from the Philippines would have been the target of Trump's reckless and baseless policy proposals. They, and many other immigrants, have made valuable contributions to society, and make our nation stronger."

"As the son of Filipino immigrants, and on behalf of my elders, my manongs and manangs, I am appalled by the outrageous comments of this racist bully," said Rolando Lavarro, president of the Jersey City Council of New Jersey in PolitikerNJ.

"He disregards the countless contributions that Filipino Americans have made to the United States of America, particularly Filipino World War II veterans who fought and died bravely to preserve our freedom and American way of life. He ignores the families and loved ones of those veterans who are applying for citizenship via the current parole program. Once again, Trump puts an exclamation point on his ignorance as he disregards over a century of relations between the U.S. and the Philippines, a country that has been and continues to be one of our nation’s closest allies in that region," said the community leader.

"These latest comments are an insult to the nearly 18,000 Filipino Americans residing in Jersey City, 127,000 in New Jersey and over 3.4 million across the country."

Sen. Nerissa Underwood

On the other side of the world, a Guam legislator asked the island's GOP to unendorsed Trump. 

“Donald Trump's latest disturbing statement and rant suggests that as president he would ban immigration from countries like the Philippines,” Guam Sen. Nerissa Underwood said in a press release Friday. “This is reckless and does not embody our values as a country or island. The Philippines helps America fight terrorism and Filipinos contribute to our island's growth and success.”

“I call on Guam's Republican delegates and Gov. Calvo to repudiate Mr. Trump’s divisive and disrespectful rhetoric and un-endorse his candidacy for president,” she added.

Reginald Parulan expressed his dismay  by putting up a video on Youtube for Filipinos to share with their friends and family. Here are some screenshots from his video:

The message is clear ... ya'think?

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