Cuellar supports Trump because of his stance on immigration. In fact, 68 percent of Trump supporters believe immigration is a huge problem in the U.S. according to a Pew Research report. Cuellar believes America’s current immigration policies are flawed, and that more resources should be used to support U.S. citizens rather than undocumented immigrants.
“Right now, we are just being overloaded with too many immigrants, and I believe that we must try to at least have a good flow on how many immigrants we can accept without making it a burden to the country,” he said.
Every Saturday, Cuellar goes door to door campaigning for Trump. He and his father visit affluent neighborhoods along Richmond’s waterfront. They knock on every door, even engaging people who are walking their dogs or riding bikes.
When Cuellar comes across a Trump supporter, he beams with excitement, giving the person a sturdy handshake.
When Cuellar meets a Hillary Clinton supporter, he asks if there is any way to change their minds. He suggests third-party candidates like Jill Stein, hands out a "Why you should not vote for Hillary” pamphlet and describes Clinton as “anti-women” because she has accepted donations from countries like Saudi Arabia.
Though a few people slam their doors after hearing Trump’s name, many listen to Cuellar’s points on why Trump should be president. Cuellar lists Trump’s accomplishments in business and argues that Trump can save the U.S. economy. He pledges that Trump will create more jobs for minorities and focus on the betterment of U.S. citizens.
“[Trump] is the only person, from what I can tell, to actually take America’s immigration policy seriously. His plan of putting Americans first is my favorite thing about his stances,” he said.
Cuellar says he doesn't see Trump as anti-Latino but Pro-American, because he himself identifies as American more than he identifies as Latino.
Although his parents were once undocumented immigrants, Cuellar considers them an exception — good, hardworking people who are deserving of their new lives in America. Freddy balls his right fist and hits his knee when he talks about how hard they had to work to get where they are today.
But Cuellar agrees with Donald Trump that many immigrants, unlike his own family, come to the U.S. with "problems." He said he and his family have had multiple bad interactions with undocumented immigrants.
"In the media, I always see people pushing the idea of all undocumented immigrants being hard workers and all-around kindhearted people. If that were the case, I wouldn’t be supporting a guy like Donald Trump,” he said. "Maybe I just have bad luck.”
Cuellar also agrees with Trump about the need for a stronger border wall between Mexico and America.
What if a stricter immigration policy under a Trump presidency resulted in his own father being threatened with deportation? Cuellar said his father, Jose, would willingly obey the law of the land and leave the country.
In fact, the younger Cuellar has even convinced his father to support Trump, too.
Even after all of Trump's anti-Latino rants, 24 percent of Latino registered voters still plan to vote for him. Although Cuellar has been called names and has lost friends, he stands firm on his decision to vote for Trump. He said he once hated Trump because of what he read in the media, but changed his mind after doing his own research.
“I’m supporting Donald Trump no matter what," said Cuellar. "I don’t care about other people’s opinions.”
