Congressional Hispanic Caucus Denounces Trump’s Saturday Night Live Gig

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus now officially opposes Donald Trump’s hosting gig on Saturday Night Live, adding to a growing chorus of protests ahead of the event.

“Trump’s racist remarks and his continued rhetoric demonizing Latinos and immigrants has created fear within these communities around the country, many of which are represented in Congress by Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus,” wrote the 26-member group, headed by Democratic chairwoman Linda Sanchez from California.

The statement mentions Trump’s controversial remark during his campaign launch where he said some illegal Mexican immigrants were “rapists,” as well as the beating of a homeless man in Boston in which the perpetrator cited Trump as inspiration.

“Therefore, be it resolved that the Congressional Hispanic Caucus calls upon NBCUniversal, Broadway Video, and SNL Executive Producer Lorne Michaels to disinvite Mr. Trump from hosting Saturday Night Live because racism is not funny,” the statement continues. “And be it further resolved, that the Congressional Hispanic Caucus urges NBCUniversal to stand by its earlier commitment to end its relationship with Mr. Trump because the values of ‘respect and dignity for all people’ are more important than ratings and ad revenues.”

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NBCUniversal, which broadcasts Saturday Night Live, officially broke business ties with Trump in June after the “rapists” comment during his campaign launch. The Hispanic Caucus’s statement is the latest in a mounting opposition towards Trump’s appearance on the show. An umbrella group for 40 Hispanic organizations wrote a similar letter to NBC in October, and online petitions telling the show to rescind Trump’s invitation have received over 350,000 signatures.

NBC and the Trump campaign declined to comment on this issue.

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