Kamala Harris, Latinos, and the Democrats

The United States can reform its "broken" immigration system while also protecting the "Dreamers," the children of undocumented immigrants who came to the country with their parents and grew up there, said Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate.

"We can do both, create an earned path to citizenship and ensure our border is secure. We can and must do both," Harris stated before the Young Leaders Conference of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

The statement from the Democratic candidate reflects both the need to solidify ties with the growing Hispanic minority and the reality of a country where concerns over "out-of-control" immigration and insecure borders are part of this year’s electoral agenda. These issues will be key political focuses for Congress in 2025. Immigration and border security have been major campaign topics for Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump, who, since his first campaign in 2015, has consistently warned against the 'invasion' of migrants and the insecurity at the border, highlighted by drug trafficking.

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This stance is part of a strong effort to court the Hispanic minority in the U.S., which, according to recent figures, could include up to 34 million potential voters. However, only slightly more than half are expected to go to the polls. Democrats are seeking, and seem to have partly succeeded, in regaining ground in a sector that has traditionally been favorable to them, although up to 40% of Hispanics have been receptive to Republican arguments about the economy, immigration, and border disorder.

However, Republicans gave Democrats a political weapon earlier this year when they rejected a Democratic proposal to toughen immigration policy and border security because they wanted to use the issue as an electoral tool.

Trump himself provided a second argument when he announced that if re-elected, he would order the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants. Around 60% of the U.S. Hispanic population, estimated at 60 million people, is of Mexican origin.

The rest come from Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, Central, and South American backgrounds, especially from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Venezuela, driven by political and economic crises. According to demographic reports, the number of potential Latino voters increases by nearly one million each year, primarily due to population growth and, to a lesser extent, immigration.

Harris’s proposal reaffirms a commitment made by Barack Obama’s administration to the Dreamers. However, at the same time, the Democrats' announcement of tougher immigration policies could lead to a potential fracture, at least according to pro-immigrant groups and the left wing of the party, as reported by the online newspaper Axios.

BY JOSÉ CARREÑO FIGUERAS

CONTRIBUTOR

JOSE.CARRENO@ELHERALDODEMEXICO.COM

@CARRENOJOSE1

Información publicada originalmente en El Heraldo de México