With ICE arrests and detentions at their highest levels, immigration remains a key issue for voters less than two weeks before election day.
Anonymous reader, California asks in a callout question: What impact the ICE actions are having on the Latino vote, particularly in states like FL? I am very concerned about the many tactics that the Trump Administration can deploy to frustrate voting, (last minute mobilization of ICE, Federalization of Nat’l Guard, martial law, litigation questioning the results, delaying the swearing in of the new representatives). Any thoughts on the likelyhood of any or all of these?
Maanvi Singh: Politically, it’s clear that Trump’s immigration crackdown is affecting Republican candidates in key Florida midterms races – opening a door for Democrats. Latino voters who helped carry Trump to victory in the presidential election have seen the crackdown affect their communities, and daily lives. Florida restaurant and hotel owners have said that ICE’s presence is frightening away both workers and customers. Republican congresswoman María Elvira Salazar – who is re-election in a central Miami district that Trump carried – aired a Spanish-language ad breaking with the president, saying his immigration crackdown had “betrayed” Hispanic voters in her district.
Meanwhile, the stakes are high for Latino voters in the state. New changes to state election laws, pushed by Republican legislators, will de-register voters who do not participate in this election. And there’s a mountain of disinformation targeting Latino voters.
Sam Levin: The Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security have launched aggressive efforts across the country to stop alleged “voter fraud” by noncitizens, and there are growing concerns these crackdowns could intimidate lawful voters and be used to sow doubt in the results of the elections. The DoJ recently sued California, alleging widespread voter fraud and demanding the state be blocked from tabulating certain ballots the DoJ claimed could belong to US citizens, but state officials have strongly rejected those claims and said the DoJ was incorrectly flagging US citizens as potential ineligible voters. It’s really unusual for the government to take these kinds of actions so close to an election, and there are worries the theatrics around these efforts could discourage people from going to the polls.
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