Former Border Town Police Chief: 'I'm Proud To Be Hispanic And I'm 100 Percent Behind Donald Trump'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Despite Donald Trump's controversial comments about immigration, there are some Hispanic-Americans along the Texas-Mexico border who back the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
"I'm a former chief of police in a border town. I'm Hispanic, I'm proud to be Hispanic and I'm 100 percent behind Donald Trump for his candidacy to the White House," Tony Castaneda, who is the grandson of Mexican immigrants, told CBS News.
Castaneda stated that he wasn't offended by Trump's comments that Mexican immigrants coming to the United States illegally were bringing drugs, crime and are rapists.
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"He's very blunt. I'm blunt too. Maybe that's why I like some of his positions, because he's not a side shooter. You know, he talks directly, directly to the point," Castaneda explained to CBS News. "Maybe that needs to be polished up a bit to be politically correct, but I don't think he wants to be politically correct. We're tired of politically correct people occupying the White House and occupying positions of government that represent us. We don't want to hear the politically correct response. We want to hear the truth."
Castaneda referred to Trump as "my amigo" because he wants to put a plan in place "that will be legally followed by those people who want to become residents."
"I live right on the border, so I am familiar with undocumented people coming through the backyard of my house and I am familiar with narcotic traffickers dumping dope next to my house and I participated in the arrest of these people," Castaneda said. "So I want a good defense along the border, too, so I can live in comfort and I can live in peace just like everybody else in this country."
Miriam Cepeda, who lives in the border town of McAllen, Texas, is a 24-year-old Trump supporter. She told CBS News she wants to see her family members who came to the U.S. illegally deported back to Mexico.
"People need to wake up and realize that the illegal immigrants that are here, that have no other form of self-employment, do turn to drugs, do turn to the cartel business, do turn to illegal immigration," Cepeda said. "And I'm saying this because I have family members that are involved in this stuff, and they are in the state jail at this moment, and I would love nothing better but for them to be deported."
She added, "Hopefully with Donald Trump being the next president, we can secure our borders. He is the only one who is actively engaging in the conversation about illegal immigration."
Hector Garza, a U.S. Border Patrol agent whose parents immigrated legally from Mexico, said Trump cares about what happens at the border.
"I did meet with Mr. Trump. I did feel that Mr. Trump was really concerned about the border, and him coming down to Laredo and accepting our invitation, I think that's an indication that he really does care what happens on the border," Garza told CBS News.
Garza also slammed the cutbacks to the agency's budget.
"In this year's budget, President Obama called for 300 less BP agents, along the border, and at this point, we do not need less BP agents, we need more," Garza told CBS News.
Trump has pledged that Mexico will pay to build a wall along the border.
A recent Quinnipiac University poll found that Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton holds a slight lead nationally over Trump – 45 to 41 percent.
