This midterm election, Republicans are aligning themselves with President Donald Trump in their attack ads, targeting immigration with threats to undocumented immigrants and promises of the U.S.-Mexico border wall.
According to the Guardian, a review of nearly 60 Republican-backed TV ads showed messaging “rooted in painting a dark portrait of immigrants, with a fixation on violence and crime.” These ads often portrayed the threat of transnational gang MS-13 and sanctuary cities attempting to maintain safety for undocumented immigrants, as well as support for strict border security, and opposition to Democrats, portraying them as too lenient on unauthorized immigration.
The Guardian‘s Sabrina Siddiqui writes that this rhetoric differs greatly from how Republicans stood against Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign, promoting a total ban of Muslims into the country, as well as the idea that Mexicans are killers and rapists. Now, they’re rallying behind the “politics of fear,” she writes.
Yes, there are a few Republican candidates who aren’t following in line with anti-immigrant attack ad messaging, such as Colorado Rep. Mike Coffman, Florida Rep. Carlos, and Florida Gov. Rick Scott. But even the Republicans’ messaging has strayed away from the Republican National Committee’s autopsy report following Mitt Romney’s loss to former President Barack Obama in 2012.
“If Hispanic Americans perceive that a GOP nominee or candidate does not want them in the United States, they will not pay attention to our next sentence,” the 2013 report stated. “It does not matter what we say about education, jobs or the economy; if Hispanics think we do not want them here, they will close their ears to our policies.”
You can view these ads, filtered by the sponsoring candidate or group, through this online anti-immigrant TV ad tracker created by progressive immigration group America’s Voice.
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H/T the Guardian