FROM THE OUTSIDE | Latinos: Regretting their vote?

Por

José Carreño Figueras

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Publicado: 4/8/2025 · 4:01 p.m. MX | Actualizado: 4/8/2025 · 4:01 p.m. MX

Up to 40 percent of U.S. Latino voters—especially Cuban, Venezuelan, and Central American communities—supported now-President Donald Trump and his promise to crack down on undocumented immigration, particularly by deporting so-called dangerous immigrants.

Now, many of them regret it—or at least seem to-and some believe there could be political consequences.

Initially, the definition of “criminal alien” now encompasses anyone who has settled in the U.S. without documentation, found employment, started a business, paid taxes, and was in the process of legalizing their status.

Sigue leyendo:

Proyecto de ley impone cargos de 15,000 dólares a turistas que viajen a Estados Unidos

El Departamento de Estado habría presentado el borrador de una nueva ley que permite emitir bonos para algunas visas de turismo y negocios.

The crackdown appears more like a campaign targeting individuals who seem Latino. After all, Latin Americans are the most visible ethnic group among undocumented immigrants and the largest minority in the U.S.

ICE raids and arrests of undocumented immigrants, regardless of criminal history, have fueled fear and outrage across Hispanic communities nationwide—a diverse voter bloc where Trump gained support in 2024,” reported the Miami Herald.

The crackdown—if we want to call it that—has targeted not only convicted criminals but also gardeners, farm workers, kitchen assistants, mothers, and asylum seekers. Arrests have reportedly been carried out by masked individuals with no identification or warrants, in scenes many Americans are starting to compare to law enforcement in totalitarian states.

Part of the reason, it’s said, is that White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller demanded at least 3,000 detentions and/or deportations each day—otherwise, immigration officials would have to resign.

And yes, that supposedly includes “performance bonuses.”

While discontent is increasing among the general public—where only Trump’s most loyal supporters endorse the immigration enforcement methods—resentment is even stronger among Cuban, Venezuelan, and Central American Latinos, particularly Nicaraguans.

The offensive now includes recipients of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), such as Salvadorans and Nicaraguans who fled political turmoil in their home countries, as well as asylum seekers like Venezuelans and Cubans—groups that have traditionally received special consideration.

Many of those impacted are family members of people who voted for Trump.

Recent polls show increasing disapproval of the administration’s anti-immigration policies, and anecdotal evidence indicates their negative effects on local economies.

Reports of legal residents or even citizens being wrongfully detained, or of mistreatment in hastily built detention camps, are only fueling the backlash.

But no one is certain what the political consequences could be.

José Carreño Figueras