Why Latinos should support Trump impeachment trial

With former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial set for next week, some Latino lawmakers have already made it clear how they feel about it. Last week, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) tweeted that, “In the midst of a pandemic, Democrats are advancing their political agenda through a vindictive impeachment.” On Jan. 24, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) said on “Fox News Sunday” that he would vote to end the trial at the earliest opportunity. “I think the trial is stupid,” he said.  

But Cruz and Rubio are out of step with mainstream Latino views. The Latino community has myriad reasons to support Trump’s impeachment trial. Latinos know what it is like to live in fear of Trump-inspired violence. The legal case against Trump is solid, and surveys suggest that Latinos are inclined to support his conviction. Most importantly, Latinos believe in equal justice under the law.  

Knowing the effects of violence 

The article of impeachment that the House brought against Trump outlines the role that he played in the attack on the Capitol: For months preceding the meeting of Congress to count the Electoral College votes, Trump falsely asserted that the election results were the product of fraud and should not be accepted. On Jan. 6, shortly before Congress met, Trump urged a crowd in D.C. to “fight like hell.” This incitement to insurrection, House Resolution 24 says, led to the unlawful breach of the Capitol and “other violent, deadly, destructive, and seditious acts.” These words are no exaggeration; during the Capitol riot, Latino lawmakers locked down in their offices and feared for their lives.  

Sadly, Latino communities know too well the effects of such violence. Remember that in August 2019, a shooter inspired by Trump’s rhetoric killed 23 people in El Paso, the deadliest hate crime against Latinos in modern U.S. history. Violence against Latinos did not stop then; last year, there were multiple attacks targeting Latinos and immigrants as well. A November FBI report found an increase in reports of hate crimes against Latinos.

Trump’s second impeachment rightfully had bipartisan support among Latino lawmakers. All 34 House members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus voted in favor of impeachment, and they were joined by two principled Latino Republicans, Rep. Jaime Herrera-Beutler of Washington and Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio. 

Like a majority of other Americans, who support Trump’s impeachment and conviction, most Latinos likewise support holding Trump accountable for the Capitol riot. In a Washington Post/ABC News poll taken shortly before Trump left office, 93% of Latinos said that they disapproved of the actions of the people who stormed the Capitol, and 68% thought Congress should remove Trump from office and disqualify him from holding elected office in the future. Two-thirds of Latinos said that Trump bore a great deal or a good amount of responsibility for the attack on the Capitol.

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It’s no wonder that the country’s leading Latino advocacy groups have supported Trump’s impeachment, including the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), UnidosUS, Hispanic Federation, and Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF). These organizations recognize that Trump’s actions have caused damage to our democracy, and they want to ensure that such a betrayal of our Constitution never happens again.  

Trump bears responsibility

In their response to the article of impeachment, Trump’s lawyers deny that he directly incited the Capitol mob and defend his right to claim election fraud. Yet, even Republicans like Senator Rubio acknowledge that Trump “bears responsibility for some of what happened” on Jan. 6, while courts across the country have rejected  claims of election fraud. Trump’s defense is also expected to focus on the idea that a trial of a former president is unconstitutional because he has left office. This notion, which  contradicts findings by the Congressional Research Service, is just an attempted distraction from the president’s obviously egregious conduct. How ironic that a president who harshly policed Latino and immigrant communities in the name of "law and order" now wants to hold himself above the law.  

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No amount of legal wrangling can obscure the fact that Trump attempted to subvert the will of millions of Latinos who voted for Joe Biden. Only a trial can determine the former president’s culpability for Capitol riot – and those Republicans who have signaled an  intention to vote against Trump’s conviction are abdicating their constitutional duties. Besides, how can the U.S. promote democracy in Latin America if the Senate is willing to look past an armed uprising in our seat of government? 

Latinos should support a full trial of Trump in the U.S. Senate. The former president must face the consequences of encouraging deadly violence.  

Raul A. Reyes is an attorney and a member of the USA Today Board of Contributors. Follow him on Twitter @RaulAReyes