I Should Have Known “illegal aliens” was a GOP dog whistle.

President Trump hit a new low this week. Even after the worldwide condemnation of Trump’s racist tweets telling 4 members of Congress who are women of color to leave America to go back to where they came from, his supporters at the North Carolina rally chanted “Send her back.” In regards to Congresswoman Omar for standing up for herself against the President’s racist remarks.

When I heard the chants themselves, it moved me. I broke down in tears thinking so many things. Things like if this happened two years ago, I would be chanting those same words. It moved me and I felt pain and so many different emotions like I felt their anger and hate towards Congresswoman Omar. Trump supporters have it installed in their minds if you critique America, that means you hate our country, and that’s far from the truth. It’s her job as a Congresswoman to make America better for all people. She lived the American dream, leaving a horrific war-torn country and made something of herself. I may not agree with everything she has said, but I admire her and consider her to be a patriot and an American hero.

Back to my main point of this column, Trump supporters chanted “Send her back.” A legal immigrant, and an American citizen. That’s pure racism, and it’s being incited by the President. I should have known when conservatives have always said they want immigrants to come here legally, they meant they didn’t immigrants who are people of color. I should have realized that “illegal aliens” is a dog whistle for immigrants of color. I should have researched immigration laws back then and seen that seeking asylum is legal, which conservative media never mentions, and the fact that Trump supporters support children and women being locked in cages and separated at the border. Even as we speak, more and more cases of Americans who are Mexican are being deported by ICE just because they have brown skin and speak Spanish.

I need to remind myself that this is what the Republican Party represents. It was never about legal immigration and Trump happened to be the person to amplify that message, which makes sense to me when GOP Establishment didn’t originally want him to win in the primaries. As you can see now, they are with him in full swing supporting his racist comments and rallies. I wish I didn’t let this ideology consume me when I first became a political activist. I see now this is who they are, and their media uses dog whistles to disguise their hateful agenda. Keeping America white and isolated with “1 American way of life.”