Univision Pulls Out of Miss USA Pageant Following Donald Trump's Anti-Immigrant Rant

Presidential hopeful Donald Trump, who claimed in his speech announcing his bid for the Republican nomination that Mexican immigrants are criminals, drug traffickers, and rapists who are "killing" the U.S. economy, has imperiled the first-ever Spanish-language broadcast of the icnonic Miss USA pageant.

In response to Trump's comments on June 16, Univision announced Wednesday that the network would "not be ... working on any other projects tied to the Trump Organization."

The company, the U.S.'s largest Spanish-language broadcaster, explained its decision to break with Trump by saying, "we see first-hand the work ethic, love for family, strong religious values and the important role Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans have had and will continue to have in building the future of our country."

Caught in the middle of the controversy is Comcast NBCUniversal, which co-owns the Miss Universe Organization in a joint venture with Trump. Thursday, the broadcaster also released a statement distancing themselves from the growing controversy, saying:

"Donald Trump's opinions do not represent those of NBC, and we do not agree with his positions on a number of issues, including his recent comments on immigration."

Currently, MSNBC's out gay anchor Thomas Roberts remains slated to return as co-host of the iconic beauty pageant's English-speaking broadcast on July 12, even as the two Spanish-simulcast co-hosts, Puerto Rican actress Roselyn Sanchez and Chilean actor Cristian De La Fuente, have retracted their involvement, saying Wednesday that Trump's statements were offensive to all Latinos.

Roberts, who is not Latino, is a veteran of pageant controversy, showing in 2013 how much the event reflects participant's stakes in real-world political issues: he opted to host the Miss Universe pageant in Russia, despite the country's anti-gay laws. Saying at the time that "boycotting and vilifying" the country for its govnerment's homophobia was "too easy," he explained in an op-ed on MSNBC that, "Rather, I choose to offer my support to the LGBT community in Russia by going to Moscow and hosting this event as a journalist, an anchor, and a man who happens to be gay. Let people see I am no different than anyone else."

Trump commended Roberts on his decision to try to aid LGBT Russians, despite his continued opposition to same-sex marriage. The multi-billionaire has not been so understanding this year with Univision's censure of himself, threatening to sue the Spanish-language broadcaster for breach of contract if they do not air the Miss USA pageant. He has not addressed concerns that his stance on Mexican immigrants is inflammatory and reductive, instead standing by his statements, which included:

"When do we beat Mexico at the border? They're laughing at us, at our stupidity. And now they are beating us economically. They are not our friend, believe me. But they're killing us economically. ...

The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everybody else's problems. When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people. ...

"I would build a great wall [at the U.S.-Mexico border], and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and I'll build them very inexpensively, I will build a great, great wall on our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall."

Reacting to Univision's attempt to break ties with him, Trump went on to claim on Twitter Wednesday that Mexico wishes to silence him about the "terrible border situation & horrible trade deals" and has "forced" Univision to to try to stop him from exposing trade agreements that are "really bad for US jobs, only good for Mexico."

Univision has not responded to Trump's threat of a lawsuit. NBC has previously stated that they will "re-evaluate" their relationship with Trump following his announcement fo rhis presidential bid, due to equal-time FCC rules.