Photo: Susan Walsh Associated Press U.S. President Joe Biden walks up the steps of Air Force One at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. He was in Vegas to deliver a speech at the convention of one of the most former Hispanic civil rights organizations in the country, with the aim of boosting the Latino vote. However, his presence was canceled after he tested positive for coronavirus.
Published at 9:55 a.m.
Sonia Villamizar may have been an American for twenty years, but she is only considering voting for the first time in November, during a presidential election where debates on immigration are raging.
But neither side satisfies this thirty-year-old, originally from Peru.
“I don’t see what plan they really have for help immigrants,” she told AFP this week during a civil rights conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, one of the key voting states.
To keep the White House in November, the Democrats will have to convince undecided people like Ms. Villamizar.
In the United States, 36.2 million Latin Americans are eligible to vote in this election, or 14.7% of potential voters, according to the Pew Research Center.
But among them, 13 million are not registered on the electoral lists, according to Clarissa Martinez de Castro, of the UnidosUS organization.
The democratic camp is therefore investing massively in bilingual advertising campaigns and events in southwestern states, such as Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas.
This week, President Joe Biden canceled his appearance at a Latino community gathering in Las Vegas after testing positive for COVID-19.
The candidacy of the 81-year-old president has been weakened since his disastrous debate against Donald Trump : multiple personalities on the left are calling on him to step aside in favor of a younger candidate.
But whatever the Democratic candidate in November, the equation election will necessarily include the Latino vote.
“Our votes in Arizona and Nevada carry much more weight, because they will determine who will be the next president of the United States,” summarizes Francisco Aguilar, responsible for elections in Nevada.
But according to the elected Democrat, “only half” of the Latin Americans registered on the electoral lists vote.
Combating abstention is therefore the absolute priority, adds Adrian Pontes, his counterpart from Arizona.
Mobilizing this electorate, however, remains difficult “if we do not lend it “be careful until two or three weeks before election day”, criticizes this Democrat.
Long taken for granted, the support of Latin Americans for the left has eroded in recent years.
Since Joe Biden's disastrous debate, Donald Trump is on par with him with this electorate, with 36% of intentions to vote vote, according to a Pew Research Center poll.
Immigration is a thorny subject for the Democratic president, even among Latinos: some accuse him of laxity in the face of massive arrivals at the border, others criticize him for his lack of immigration reforms.
The Biden administration is trying to keep things simple.
On the one hand, it has just adopted major restrictions allowing close the border beyond a certain quota of arrivals. On the other hand, it facilitated the issuance of permanent residence permits (the famous “green card”) to spouses of American citizens.
For Raquel Albuez, “The most important thing is to have a government that has consideration and empathy for migrants. »
This 34-year-old Dominican has had her green card for a decade, but considers the path to nationality too costly and bureaucratic.
“We pay taxes, we start from zero and we work hard to have opportunities in this country,” she recalls. “We want a government that helps us. »
Donald Trump promises to deport millions of illegal immigrants and close the border from the first day of his possible return to the White House.< /p>
A radical position that resonates with many long-established Latin Americans in the United States, with conservative leanings.
The former Republican president also scores points thanks to his aura as a businessman, with an electorate hit hard by post-pandemic inflation.
< p> “Before, we could hope to buy a house here,” sighs Jose Suarez, in Las Vegas. “Today ? Even paying for groceries is complicated. »
This VTC driver voted for Biden in 2020, but does not rule out “giving Trump another chance”.
Despite the ambient indecision, the community will remain anchored to the left, assures union leader Susie Martinez.
“A large part of Trump's program will not help Latinos. It will help […] the rich and corporations,” she argues.
“At the end of the day, Latinos know what’s important. »
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