LAS VEGAS – Sonia Villamizar has never voted in the United States, where she became a citizen two decades ago. Now, with a close presidential election in which both candidates have immigration at the top of their agenda, she is considering doing so for the first time. But for now, she says she has not decided who to vote for.
“I don’t see any real plan they have to help immigrants,” said Villamizar, who was participating in a conference of a Latino civil rights organization in Las Vegas.
The 36-year-old woman is part of a vital demographic for the Democrats in their fight to stay in the White House: undecided Latinos.
“We are a critical factor in the equation for the White House,” explains Clarissa Martinez de Castro, of the Unidos US Latino Vote initiative.
According to projections from the Pew Research Center, 14.7% of Americans eligible to vote in the November presidential election are Latino (36.2 million).
With some 13 million unregistered, the potential to attract voters It is large. Added to this figure is the percentage of abstentionists like Villamizar.
“Only half vote”
With the rematch between President Joe Biden, who is still struggling to keep his candidacy afloat, and Republican Donald Trump promising to be so close in November, Democrats are investing heavily in bilingual campaigns, events in states with large Latino populations such as Arizona, Texas, New Mexico and Nevada.
Biden traveled to Las Vegas to resume his campaign, when a positive COVID-19 diagnosis forced him to interrupt his electoral agenda.
“Our votes in Arizona and Nevada are more significant because they will determine who will be the next President of the United States,” said Francisco Aguilar, Nevada’s Secretary of State.
At a panel on how to mobilize Latinos in Las Vegas, Aguilar reflected that “one in five registered voters is Latino. (…) “But only half of them vote.”
“What impact would it have if you took that 50% and made it 80 or 90%?” interjected Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Pontes, who offered a sort of Democratic self-criticism.
“Maybe (…) we’re not getting the new voters because we’re not paying attention to them until two or three weeks before Election Day,” he added.
Dissatisfaction
Latinos have traditionally favored Democrats, but their support has narrowed over the past decade because of the party’s far-left leaning.
A Pew Research Center survey after the disastrous Biden-Trump debate put voting intentions in this group at 36% between the two candidates.
On immigration, Biden is criticized by one sector that sees him as lax at the border, and by another that has been waiting for the immigration reform promised since the time of Barack Obama, the administration of which Biden was vice president.
“The most important thing is to have a government that is considerate and empathetic toward migrants,” said Raquel Albuez, a Dominican who obtained her residency a decade ago but has been struggling to obtain citizenship.
“We pay taxes, we start from scratch and we work hard for an opportunity in this country, we want a government that helps us,” he added.
In an attempt to gain support, the Biden administration restricted the entry of undocumented immigrants through the southern border that was created after the Democrat’s arrival at the White House. More than 10 million irregular immigrants have been intercepted by the Customs and Border Protection Office (CBP), a situation that has created a crisis in several cities, including budgets due to the economic burden of providing shelter, food and health care to thousands of people.
Biden has restricted asylum requests at the southern border, while making it easier for undocumented spouses and children to obtain citizenship.
But Trump, who is promising mass deportations and closing the border on his first day in office, is capitalizing on discontent among Latinos in the United States who are distancing themselves from their recently arrived compatriots.
“There is a percentage of the Latino community that leans toward the conservative side,” acknowledged Leilani Hinyard, president of the North Las Vegas Democratic Club.
“We have to explain to them the dangers of a Trump administration,” Hinyard said. “It’s vital that they understand the ramifications of a Trump administration,” said the Democrat, whose party has resumed its attacks on the former president following the attack on him.
The high cost of living under Biden
On economic issues, a priority for Latino voters, Trump also seems to be gaining supporters.
“I’m more inclined to vote for Biden, but let’s say I’m still at 50-50,” said Jose Suarez, who works as a ride-hailing driver in Las Vegas and who voted for the Democrat in 2020.
“Before, you could aspire to buy a house here. Nowadays? Even the weekly market is difficult. (…) Things have become bad, and I’m starting to wonder if we should give Trump another chance,” he muses.
Source: With information from AFP
