Lin-Manuel Miranda Calls Out Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric During Commencement Speech

By Sameer Rao May 17, 2016

"Hamilton" creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda spoke out against anti-immigrant electoral rhetoric during his commencement remarks at the University of Pennsylvania yesterday (May 16).

Miranda didn’t namecheck any specific political candidates during his delivery of the keynote address at the Philadelphia Ivy League school’s graduation, but he did criticize a vitriol that many trace to Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump:

In a year when politicians traffic in anti-immigrant rhetoric, there is also a Broadway musical reminding us that a broke, orphan immigrant from the West Indies built our financial system. A story that reminds us that since the beginning of the great unfinished symphony that is our American experiment, time and time again, immigrants get the job done. 

According to The Huffington Post, Trump’s daughter Tiffany graduated from the university this year. While Trump did not attend the ceremony yesterday, he did attend her individual school’s ceremony on Sunday (May 15). 

Read Miranda’s full remarks via Heatstreet, or watch the speech here.