Latin America bashes Trump's immigration bashing

MIAMI — A day after Jeb Bush hugged his Mexican-born wife and spoke flawless Spanish during his presidential campaign announcement, Donald Trump went in a different direction when he announced his White House bid: He bashed immigrants and said Mexico was no friend of the USA.

Latin America noticed — and wasn't pleased.

The real estate magnate became front-page news south of the border after he said Mexico and other Latin American countries were "not sending their best" people to the U.S., but rather criminals, drug dealers and rapists.

"They're laughing at us, at our stupidity" Trump said Tuesday in New York City. "And now they're beating us economically. They are not our friend, believe me. The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everybody else's problems."

Mexico's El Universal newspaper proclaimed on its front page that Trump had "lashed out" at Mexicans while promising to build a "great wall" on the Mexican border. Argentina's Clarín newspaper decried the "nationalistic vein" that Trump struck throughout his speech.

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Social media blew up throughout the region, as Americans quipped that Trump had already lost the Hispanic vote and Latin Americans expressed shocked over the statements made by the reality TV star. Comedian Rob Schneider directed a tweet at Trump, saying his daughter is half-Mexican and lamenting that she has the "problem" of speaking two languages before turning three years old.

As his statements circulated through the region, Mexican government officials started weighing in too.

Miguel Ángel Osorio, Mexico's secretary of the interior, said Trump's comments ignored the fact that the U.S. was built by the hard work of immigrants from around the world. José Antonio Meade, Mexico's secretary of foreign affairs, put it more simply, saying Trump's comments displayed "profound ignorance."

One of the most common reactions came from Lisa Navarrete of the National Council of La Raza, a U.S. group that advocates for immigrants in the country.

"I look at him as a 2-year-old who will say a naughty word to get their parents' attention," she said, according to Latina.com.