CINCINNATI — “Crushed.” “Disappointed.” “Confused.”
Some Hispanic leaders who have been advising Donald Trump said they feel betrayed after his immigration speech that definitively ruled out a pathway to legal status for people living in the country illegally.
Trump stopped short of calling for the mass deportation of millions of people who have not committed crimes beyond their immigration offenses. But he also ruled out what he dismissed as “amnesty,” saying those who want to live legally in the U.S. will need to leave and head to the back of the line in their home countries.
“People will know that you can’t just smuggle in, hunker down and wait to be legalized,” Trump declared in his speech Wednesday night. “Those days are over.”
The language caught off guard a group of Hispanic faith and business leaders who have been advising him, often in the face of criticism from their own communities. In closed-door meetings and phone calls, Trump had given many the impression that he was prepared to soften his stance on immigration as he tries to court more moderate, general election voters and boost his standing with Hispanics and other minorities.
