Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump has escalated the national battle over immigration and race in America with his views on Mexican immigrants and building a wall for border security. KUNM talked to Yesenia Luna, a pre-law student at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, about how the national rhetoric affected her ballot.
"My parents were from Mexico, and they came to the United States a few years before I was born," she said. "My dad became a U.S. citizen, my mom is a resident now."
Luna said her mom has been working on finalizing her citizenship status with renewed urgency since Trump's campaign rhetoric crossed the line into racism. "There's still that fear that, well, who knows how things are going to change in the near future, unfortunately."
Luna said she's not against focusing on border security, but the idea that immigrants are going to ruin the country is a problem for her. She voted early for Democrat Hillary Clinton. "I think she has a better idea of what Hispanics are bringing into the country and what role we play." Her vote wasn't about choosing the lesser of two evils, Luna added, and she likes Clinton's experience.
