On Friday, presidential hopeful Donald Trump hosted a press conference in LA featuring the families of victims killed by illegal immigrants.
Before he turned it over to the families, he spent a great deal of time raking the press over the coals for their coverage of his comments about illegal immigrants. It was vintage Trump, but it also led into some pretty powerful content, teed up for a duly-shamed press corps.
Watch (the conference lasts for nearly an hour, and testimony from the families begins at about the 7 minute mark):
At around the 11 minute mark, you’ll hear the story of 13 year-old Ruben, who was gunned down by an illegal immigrant in California in 1990. Hop through the video and take a listen. It’s an intense tribute, but it’s also the kind of story that deserves to be told even within the context of a presidential campaign.
It belongs because it’s legally, politically, and culturally relevant—the ultimate trifecta. Illegal immigration is a divisive issue, but those who advocate for open borders and full amnesty are willfully ignoring the real—and dangerous—effects that those policies have on this country. No story throws that simple truth into fuller relief than that of 32 year old Kate Steinle, who was senselessly gunned down by Francisco Sanchez, a violent criminal and illegal immigrant who should not have been in the country at all.
Kate’s story starts at around the 5 minute mark:
When Trump announced his candidacy last month, I said that I was interested to see how the campaign would introduce Trump the Man (as opposed to Trump the Mogul or Trump the Reality Star) to the American people. If this is their play, it might just be working. Conservative primary voters are currently at each other’s throats over whether or not Trump is worth their attention, worth their vote, or worth nothing more than a passing glance on the way to a Cruz or Rubio rally.
These types of stories are media bait, and Trump is taking full advantage of the opportunity; but he’s also exposing some nasty realities about the effects of illegal immigration.
Perhaps if other Republicans took illegal immigration more seriously, Trump’s numbers would not be rising as they are.
UPDATE by WAJ: Carly Fiorina gave the best answer I’ve heard so far on the issue of Trump and illegal immigration:
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