America Ferrera and Zoe Saldana lead Latino celebrities against republican candidates

America Ferrera and Zoe Saldana are among the Latino celebrities who have penned an open letter slamming Republican presidential candidates for their "anti-immigrant fear-mongering".

With the race to the White House heating up, stars including the prominent activist actresses have signed their names on a missive aimed at Latino voters in America, urging them not to vote for any of the GOP politicians due to their stance on immigration.

Most notably, property tycoon and TV personality Donald Trump, who branded Mexican immigrants as "rapists" who bring drugs into the country during his presidential campaign launch last year (15).

The "open letter to the Latino Community" reads: "In this year's 2016 Republican presidential primary, the candidates crossed a line. In trying to win the nomination, every one of the leading candidates dug themselves into a deep hole pandering to the anti-immigrant base of the Republican Party that idolizes Donald Trump.

"There's no coming back from this. We've seen clearly that all the leading Republican candidates have sided with the far-right at the expense of the Latino community. They're capitalizing on negative stereotypes and inaccurate information about our community in order to win votes from the GOP base."

It continues, "Trump has spent the entirety of his presidential bid stoking unfounded anti-immigrant fears and deeply offending our communities... We must not, though, let Trump's xenophobia overshadow the extreme policies being pushed by every single one of the GOP's leading presidential candidates. Latinos should understand that Donald Trump embodies the true face of the entire Republican Party. Sadly, he speaks for the GOP's anti-immigrant, anti-Latino agenda."

Other republican candidates, Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, and Chris Christie, were also named in the letter, and Ferrera added, "It's critical that all Americans, and especially American Latinos, stand up to the misrepresentation of our communities coming from Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and any other candidate running on a platform of xenophobia and fear-mongering... We have the numbers and potential to make a difference."

In addition to Ferrera and Saldana, other Latino stars who have signed their names in support include George Lopez, Carlos Santana, Benjamin Bratt, Aubrey Plaza and Ivonne Coll.