SALT LAKE CITY — Donald Trump's major speech on immigration hit a nerve with undocumented youth, also known as “Dreamers.”
Trump fired up his supporters in Phoenix Wednesday, clarifying his stance on immigration, including tough enforcement of existing laws, throwing out executive orders on immigration and deporting immigrants arrested in the U.S.
"There will be no amnesty. Our message to the world will be this: you cannot obtain legal status or become a citizen of the United States by illegally entering our country. You can't do it," Trump said.
Trump's stance on immigration is worrisome for the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States, including Dreamers who are shielded from deportation under President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Executive Action.
A Dreamer living in Utah didn’t want Fox 13 to use his name, but he wanted to share his story.
“This is where I've been raised my whole life and this is where I've gone to school where I met all my friends,” he said.
He was born in Guadalajara, Mexico and moved to Utah at age three. His hope is to graduate from college with a business degree. But under a Trump Administration, life would change drastically.
“Whenever Donald Trump talks about deporting people, some of those people are going to be fathers, mothers, cousins, friends. That’s what I’m afraid mostly," he said.
Antonella Packard is the President of League of United Latin American Citizens or LULAC, a non-partisan group. She says Trump’s hostility toward immigrants is backfiring.
“I think it’s really foolish to disregard any sector of our community and alienating people," Packard said.
With a steady rise in the Latino vote, Packard said Trump needs their support. But it’s difficult for many to ignore the tone and rhetoric of his message.
“Nobody is denying that we have to do something but having and saying that these young men and women do not merit staying here or saying we’re going to through them back is quite insensitive,” Packard said.
