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Fourteen Conservative Hispanic leaders signed a letter saying they will now endorse Donald Trump, vote for him and “actively campaign for his candidacy.” In the letter the Hispanic leaders acknowledge that they were offended by some of Trump’s statements.  At the start of his official presidential campaign, Trump said Mexican immigrants are “rapists” who are “bringing crime.” More recently Trump said Federal Judge Gonzalo Curiel could not be objective in a case involving Trump University because “he’s Mexican,” even though Curiel was born in Indiana. And Trump has attacked the Country’s only female Hispanic governor, Susana Martinez of New Mexico. We previously reported that The Donald’s political rhetoric about Mexicans has spawned the “Donald Trump wave,” an unprecedented get-out-the-vote effort among immigration advocates.

But the Hispanic leaders have reconsidered their anti-Trump stance and decided they are better off backing Trump because Hillary Clinton “does not have the character and ethical standards to be president”:

During the primary, we took an active stance opposing the candidacy of Donald Trump. We were offended by some of his statements and views on immigration. We said in no uncertain terms that if he became the GOP nominee, we would not support him, campaign for him, or vote for him.

However, the magnitude and the frequency of the recent episodes of violence and terror, as well as the devastating statements from FBI Director James Comey regarding Hillary Clinton’s gross negligence in the handling of her official communications as Secretary of State, have led us to reconsider our position. We see now that we cannot remain silent as our great Republic, which Abraham Lincoln called “the last best hope of earth”, appears to be coming apart at the seams.

We’re convinced that if we allow Hillary Clinton to become president, the liberal policies of the last eight years of big government and social reengineering, which have led to the societal and economic malaise in which we now find ourselves, will be continued and perpetuated.

Furthermore, Clinton’s shady use of an unsecured private server to manage official communications, which included top secret and classified material, and continued lies to cover it up, perhaps even committing perjury before a House of Representatives panel, demonstrate that she does not have the character and ethical standards to be president.

The endorsement comes shortly after polling revealed about 24 percent of Hispanic voters support Trump.  That it’s the same level of Hispanic support received by the two last Republican presidential nominees, Mitt Romney — who polled at 21 percent — and Sen. John McCain  — 23 percent — before the 2012 and 2008 presidential elections.

Here’s the complete letter:

In the past weeks and months, many Americans have vividly seen and experienced the tough challenges facing the nation, including terrorist threats and attacks at home, unprecedented divisiveness and racial tension among our citizens, and a slow-growing economy that cannot create good paying jobs. Furthermore, their confidence in our leadership has eroded as they watch politicians use their positions for personal benefit, putting our national security at risk in the process, with the belief that they are above the law.

Like most, these events have given us pause and led us to see in a new light how decisive the next election will be for the future of our country.

During the primary, we took an active stance opposing the candidacy of Donald Trump. We were offended by some of his statements and views on immigration. We said in no uncertain terms that if he became the GOP nominee, we would not support him, campaign for him, or vote for him.

However, the magnitude and the frequency of the recent episodes of violence and terror, as well as the devastating statements from FBI Director James Comey regarding Hillary Clinton’s gross negligence in the handling of her official communications as Secretary of State, have led us to reconsider our position. We see now that we cannot remain silent as our great Republic, which Abraham Lincoln called “the last best hope of earth”, appears to be coming apart at the seams.

We’re convinced that if we allow Hillary Clinton to become president, the liberal policies of the last eight years of big government and social reengineering, which have led to the societal and economic malaise in which we now find ourselves, will be continued and perpetuated.

Furthermore, Clinton’s shady use of an unsecured private server to manage official communications, which included top secret and classified material, and continued lies to cover it up, perhaps even committing perjury before a House of Representatives panel, demonstrate that she does not have the character and ethical standards to be president.

We have, therefore, decided not only to vote for Donald Trump, but to actively campaign for his candidacy. Too much is at stake for America for us to remain neutral on the sidelines.

We are not enamored with Donald Trump’s bombastic rhetoric and personality. But at least we know that Donald Trump won’t divide the country and fuel the flames of racial confrontation by accusing the police and the entire criminal justice system of being racist. We also know that Trump can better address the terrorist threat we face because, contrary to Clinton, he is willing to acknowledge and address its root cause: radical Islamic fundamentalism. And we also know that Trump will reverse the current overregulation and excessive taxation of business which stifles economic growth and prevents the creation of well paid jobs.

We realize that much of the uproar over Trump within the Latino community has been over his comments and proposals on immigration. Democrats have certainly used it to pander to our community. But the reality is that Clinton cannot be trusted on immigration. She now portrays herself as a champion of immigrant rights, yet back in 2007 she voted for a poison pill amendment to kill immigration reform. Just two years ago, she called for the expedited removal of unaccompanied minors coming from Central America.

Let’s face it: Clinton doesn’t want a solution to immigration. Instead, she wants an issue to use for political gain to carry the favor of Latino voters. Like Obama, who promised immigration reform the first year of his term and then didn’t deliver, if elected, Clinton will not do anything to work in a bipartisan way to pass legislation to fix our dysfunctional immigration system.

Ironically, even on immigration, we may fare better with Trump. At the end of the day, he is practical and a deal-maker. He said recently that he doesn’t want to deport every single undocumented immigrant, and that he only called for the removal of those with criminal records.

Our country and our community cannot afford to have someone like Hillary Clinton in the White House at this crucial time in our history. We can, however, reverse the course of decline that America has been placed on by President Obama, a course which Clinton would undoubtedly follow.

We can fix America. We can turn things around. But the way to do that — the only way — is to vote for Donald Trump in November.

The letter is signed by:

1. Jerry Natividad, Colorado Republican Leader;
2. Massey Villarreal, Former President, U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and National Republican Hispanic Assembly;
3. Jacob Monty, Latino Jewish Alliance;
4. Anthony Dean Aragon, Vice Mayor, Liberal, Kansas;
5. Hugo Chavez-Rey, Chairman, Colorado Hispanic Republicans;
6. Michael T. Parra, Vice Chair, Colorado Hispanic Republicans
7. George Rivera, Pueblo County GOP Chair and former Colorado State Senator;
8. Alfonso Aguilar, Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles;
9. Vera Ortegon, Colorado Republican National Committeewoman;
10. Vinicio Madrigal, Louisiana Hispanic Political Action Coalition;
11. Maria del Carmen Guzman-Weese, Chairman, GOP Colorado House District 35;
12. Clara Rivas-Oxley, Colorado Republican Leader;
13. Solomon Martinez, Colorado Republican Leader;
14. Ada Diaz-Kirby, Colorado Republican Leader.