Latino power players in Chicago are organizing a frosty welcome for Donald Trump when he visits the city later this week, a new report says.
Demonstrators plan on greeting the GOP presidential front-runner on Friday with a protest at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Pavilion, according to The Chicago Tribune.
{mosads}“We want to raise our voices because the city of Chicago has an incredibly proud tradition of being inclusive, of bringing people together,” said Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), one of the event’s organizers.
“Mr. Trump has the tradition of division, of hatred, of bigotry, of prejudice. We are asking all of Chicago to stand up.”
Gutierrez said on Friday that protesters plan on remaining peaceful and steering clear of Trump’s rally in the Windy City.
They will instead hit Chicago’s streets and voice their opposition towards the outspoken billionaire there instead, he added.
“We cannot simply stand by and allow Donald Trump to come to this pavilion and speak without our Chicago community being heard forcefully,” Gutierrez said.
“We will counter hatred with inclusion. We will counter bigotry with love. We will counter prejudice with understanding.”
The Chicago Tribune reported on Monday that Trump’s scheduled appearance is his first in Illinois since last November. His stop comes three days before the Prairie State’s winner-take-all delegates primary on March 15.
The Chicago Tribune additionally reported that 28.9 percent of Chicago’s population identify as Hispanic, according to the U.S. census. About 21.4 percent of that total hail from Mexico.
Trump has had a contentious relationship with the Hispanic community since formally launching his campaign last summer.
He first inspired outrage by linking illegal immigration with drug trafficking and violent crime. He has also vowed to make Mexico pay for a wall along its border with the U.S.