The New Home for Hispanics is the Republican Party

Please play this PBS video interview of Florida rep. Maria Salazar on Hispanics, Trump, and deportations.

PBS interviewer, Amna Nawaz, repeatedly tried to bait Salazar on Trump’s deportation plans.

Instead, Salazar hit home runs.

Partial Transcript Courtesy of PBS, Emphasis Mine

AMNA NAWAZ: As you just heard, president-elect Donald Trump made important and surprising inroads with some key voting groups,  chief among them Hispanic voters.

Congresswoman, welcome back to the “News Hour.” Let’s just begin with your reaction to president-elect Trump’s win,  not just that he won, but how he won,  making larger inroads with Latino voters,  also being the first Republican candidate to win your district, Miami-Dade, since 1988.

REP. MARIA SALAZAR (R-FL): Yes.

I agree with you. This is a realignment. It’s a realization by the Hispanics that the new home is the Republican Party. We’re talking about that,  I’m sure, that — we don’t have the final numbers,  but everything indicates that we, the Hispanic community in this — in the United States,  may put have — put him over the top when it comes to, for instance, Pennsylvania,  

Allentown, Hazleton, more than 50 percent of Hispanics voted for Trump. Michigan, 60 percent of Hispanics went for Trump. Texas, the most Hispanic county called Starr County that has voted Democrat for the last 130 years, went 20 percent for Trump. And where I’m sitting, as you mentioned, Miami-Dade County,  that has been a blue county for the last 30 years, where District 27 is at that I represent in Congress, more than 10 points went for Trump.

It’s a big story. It’s a realization that the Dems left us. It’s not that we left the Democratic Party.

AMNA NAWAZ: Congresswoman, we should also note that he has proposed mass deportations of undocumented people starting on day one of his presidency.

There’s an estimated 198,000 undocumented people in Miami-Dade County in your district.  What would the sudden arrest and deportation of nearly 200,000 people mean for your community?

REP. MARIA SALAZAR: And I love what you’re asking me. I wrote the Dignity Act,  which is one of them only with the only comprehensive or complete immigration reform law. So I understand exactly what you’re telling me about immigration. But the problem — and I need to put this into context — when you have a Biden administration that opens the southern border for four years and allows 10 million people to come in,  and out of those 10 million, two [million] are got-aways,  and out of those 10 million you have this group  called Tren de Aragua from Venezuela, which is a transnational criminal organization… [Interrupted]

AMNA NAWAZ: Congresswoman, if I may.  I know our time here is limited. I’m asking about the potential deportation of hundreds of thousands of people in your community.

REP. MARIA SALAZAR: Well, hey, the deportation is going to be among those criminals who are the gang members,  the got-aways, the Tren de Aragua. I am sure, and I’m going to be the number one [Interrupted]

AMNA NAWAZ: Not all 200,000 documented in your community; is that what you’re saying?

REP. MARIA SALAZAR: I am sure that we’re not — that the Trump administration is not going to be targeting those people who have been here for more than five years that have American kids, that don’t have criminal records, that have been working in the economy and paying taxes. I am sure that they’re going to hone in on the criminals who arrived less than four years ago,  because I wrote the Dignity Act. And I am the first one who understands that you have to give some type of dignity to those who have been here for more than five years, people who have roots in the country, not people who are coming to commit crimes.

AMNA NAWAZ: If I can just clarify from you, have you received those kinds of details from anyone in a potential Trump administration? Because so far, what we have heard  is proposal for mass deportations.  Have you gotten those assurances?

REP. MARIA SALAZAR: Mass deportation to those who are committing crimes who have been here for less than five years. You understand that you have that millions  of undocumented who are contributing with the economy and are helping our country to be a  better one. So, there’s going to be a distinction.  And I’m going to be one of those voices making  sure within the GOP to make that distinction.

AMNA NAWAZ: That is Florida Congresswoman Maria Salazar joining us tonight.

Congresswoman, thank you for your time.

REP. MARIA SALAZAR: To you.

Thank you Florida rep. Maria Salazar. What an amazing interview.

Dignity Act

Please consider The Dignity Act Bill Summary

Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Florida) introduced the Dignity Act (H.R. 3599) in the U.S. House of Representatives on May 23, 2023, a bipartisan effort to strengthen border security in the United States, provide undocumented individuals with an opportunity to obtain legal status if they meet certain requirements, and update aspects of the U.S. legal immigration system. Additional co-sponsors include Reps. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Oregon), Mike Lawler (R-New York), and Jennifer Gonzalez-Colon (R-Puerto Rico).

This bipartisan effort comes as new polling indicates that more than 4 in 5 Americans – including 80 percent of Republican registered voters – support Republicans and Democrats working together on immigration reforms that address labor shortages and inflation, and protect people already in the U.S. and contributing to their communities. During the rollout of the legislation, Rep. Salazar indicated that the bill is intended to follow the biblical principles of Dignity and Redemption. The bill also aims to focus on modernizing America’s immigration system to meet the country’s economic needs and to do so in a manner that supports American workers. The bill’s title stands for ‘‘Dignity for Immigrants while Guarding our Nation to Ignite and Deliver the American Dream Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘DIGNIDAD (Dignity) Act of 2023.’’

The bill requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to deploy physical barriers, tactical infrastructure, technology, and personnel along the border where it is most effective. Specifically, it authorizes at least $35 billion in funding to enhance and improve infrastructure and technology between and at ports of entry. It also reforms the U.S. asylum system to make a final determination of asylum eligibility for most asylum seekers at the border within 60 days.

• Initial Screening (First 15 Days). Under the bill, migrants would receive a 72-hour rest period. After that, HC staff would provide an initial screening within 15 days. Staff will conduct criminal background checks, analyze biometric data, verify identification, conduct medical assessments, screen for human trafficking victims, and perform an initial credible fear interview.
  • Migrants unable to establish a credible fear during an initial screening are subject to expedited removal from the U.S.

The bill incorporates a version of the Dream Act, which allows young undocumented immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children and have lived in the U.S. for most of their lives to obtain legal status. This section could allow up to 1.9 million Dreamers, including the roughly 600,000 DACA recipients, to live and work in the U.S.

I endorse the Dignity Act. It is exceptionally balanced, well thought out, and bipartisan. But it’s not what Trump promised.

October 18: How Difficult Would it Be For Trump to Deport Millions of Immigrants?

Trump’s Pledge

“As soon as I take the oath of office, I will terminate every open border policy of the Biden administration and begin the largest deportation operation in American history.”

October 1: What Would Trump’s Mass Deportation of Immigrants Cost?

The Middle Ground

We need sensible immigration policy. Mass deportation of 10 to 15 million immigrants (or even 6 million) is not sensible.

It’s a dirty, not-so-secret, fact that red state and blue state alike depend on migrant labor for crops and construction projects.

However, an open border is not the answer either. We can do without the crime and shelter costs that uncontrolled immigration bring. Flying Haitians (or anyone else) here is beyond ridiculous and begging for problems.

I suggest we deport criminals, have a reasonable amnesty program for hard working immigrants who have been here for years, and mostly close the border using the military if necessary.

Future immigration should be based on our genuine needs.

Those needs may be more or less than people think. Regardless, the key is to have a controlled, enforceable, and timely process that everyone understands.

I suspect this post won’t go over well. So be it. People have no vision of who will fill the needed jobs, and at what cost, if we deport 10 million workers, even if done over a few years.

I had not read the Dignity Act until today. The act, or something very close, is undoubtedly the best immigration policy. It is both exceptionally balanced and bipartisan.

I hope common sense prevails over inflammatory rhetoric and The Dignity Act passes by an overwhelming majority.

Thanks again to Florida rep. Maria Salazar. I confidently predict she will be a rising star in the Republican Party.