Vice President Kamala Harris fielded questions about immigration, the economy and healthcare at a town hall with Univision on Thursday. Polls suggest these issues are critical to the Latino voting bloc, and many of these questions were posed by people who had very personal, emotional stories to tell.
Jesus Aispuro, a first-time voter from California, told Harris he has friends who are “Dreamers,” undocumented immigrants brought into the country as children. Pressing her on what she’d do to protect Dreamers under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, Harris said she’d prioritize an immigration plan that establishes a pathway to citizenship.
In response to a case in front of a federal appeals court over the fate of DACA, Harris’ campaign issued a statement during the town hall saying Harris “will always stand with Dreamers and keep families together” and urging Congress to pass “an earned pathway to citizenship for these young people.”
“The largest segment of undecided voters right now are still within the Latino community.”
Yvette Castillo began her question by noting she and Harris have something in common: both of their mothers are dead. Castillo noted her mother died six weeks ago, and while she was alive, she did not succeed in acquiring U.S. citizenship. Harris’ mother died in 2009. “What are your plans to support that subgroup of immigrants who have been here their whole lives and have to live and die in the shadows?” Castillo asked.
The Latino vote is crucial for Harris’ path to the White House, and polling shows it’s a more competitive fight than in 2020. Harris holds an 18-point advantage over former president Donald Trump, according to a September CBS News poll. It’s a smaller gap compared to President Joe Biden’s 33-point advantage with Latino voters in a 2020 CBS News exit poll.
“The largest segment of undecided voters right now are still within the Latino community. So doing town halls like this, it’s going to places like Arizona… having folks like the rest of us all across those states, are going to be very important,” Rep. Robert Garcia of California said after the debate.
“Latinos are going to have an outsized influence in this election because the margins are so tight,” he added.
Gavin Newsom vetoes a first-in-the-nation attempt to employ undocumented students
Write a Reply or Comment
You should Sign In or Sign Up account to post comment.