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Joe Biden won 65% of the Hispanic vote in the last presidential election. He campaigned on defending the working class and fixing the U.S. immigration system. Two years into his presidency, he has so far failed to do so, and Hispanic voters are increasingly deserting the Democratic Party. With the start of Hispanic Heritage Month, this Washington Examiner series,Taken For Granted, will look at how Biden and Democratic Party policies are failing to connect with the Latino electorate,how Donald Trump and Republicans have benefited, and how it could swing the November midterm elections.

Democrats, and some Republicans, may have exaggerated the centrality of immigration to winning over Hispanic voters.

This, in addition to the failure of Democrats to pass immigration legislation when they've controlled both the White House and Congress, could be a factor in Latinos emerging as a possible swing vote ahead of the midterm elections.

President Joe Biden campaigned on an immigration overhaul and has largely allowed a record migrant surge to continue at the border throughout most of his presidency, even as his job approval rating on the issue tumbled into the 30s in most polls.

TROUBLE IN PARADISE FOR THE GOP? A CLOSER LOOK AT THE FLORIDA POLLS

Biden saw his national share of the Hispanic vote decline relative to Hillary Clinton in 2016. In parts of Texas and Florida, the losses were even worse, putting both states out of reach.

According to Civiqs, Bidens job approval rating among Hispanics is 51% improved from the summer and above his overall approval rating but well below his 65% vote share from this demographic in the last presidential race.

Biden and congressional Democrats sought to include immigration reforms in their sprawling reconciliation bill to address lagging support from Latinos. Democrats are under pressure to find an immigration proposal that conforms with Senate budget rules ahead of a midterm election in which the party must motivate Hispanic voters to turn out, is how a report in Bloomberg Government put it.

I bring up every year that were slipping with Latino males who are becoming more and more cynical about the Democratic brand, Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-IL), chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucuss campaign arm, told the outlet. The only thing they actually favor Democrats for is comprehensive immigration reform.

The Senate parliamentarian ruled these immigration provisions were out of order as part of the partisan budget process. They did not end up in the recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act, the scaled-down bill that did finally emerge from reconciliation.

But in 2020, immigration ranked eighth among Hispanic voter concerns, according to the Pew Research Center. Only 50% of Hispanic men rated it as very important to their presidential vote.

Neither are Hispanic views on immigration monolithic. An Axios-Ipsos poll released last month found that 51% of Hispanics believed it was most important to help immigrants escape poverty and violence in their home countries and find success here, compared to 43% who responded in favor of secure U.S. borders and help U.S. citizens.

Hispanic voters were further divided on this issue based on age, national origin, and party affiliation. While 73% of Hispanics from Central America said it was most important to help immigrants, for example, 58% of Cubans chose securing the border and helping U.S. citizens.

One Republican pollster told the Washington Examiner a trend among Hispanic men toward the GOP was first evident in the 2018 midterm elections, in which Democrats took control of the House in a rebuke of former President Donald Trump.

But Republicans have also at times viewed immigration as the primary way to appeal to Hispanic voters. After a disappointing presidential election loss in 2012, the Republican National Committee conducted an autopsy that concluded comprehensive immigration reform, a policy viewed by many conservative voters as amnesty for illegal immigrants, was central to winning over the Hispanic vote.

If Hispanic Americans perceive that a GOP nominee or candidate does not want them in the United States (i.e. self-deportation), they will not pay attention to our next sentence," the report stated. "It does not matter what we say about education, jobs or the economy; if Hispanics think we do not want them here, they will close their ears to our policies."

We were convinced that the Hispanic voters Republicans could attract most easily were those who agreed with White working class Republicans about the need for more immigration enforcement and less annual immigration, writes Jim Robb in his forthcoming book Political Migrants: Hispanic Voters on the Move. The RNC autopsy report, on the other hand, had advised trying to appeal to the Hispanic voters whose attitudes were the most different.

President George W. Bush had won upward of 44% of the Hispanic vote in his 2004 reelection bid. He had supported unsuccessful legislative attempts to reform immigration that would have given legal status to a large majority of undocumented immigrants already in the United States. But the late Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), a key leader of those legislative efforts, won just 32% of the Hispanic vote as the GOP presidential nominee in 2008.

Four years later, Mitt Romney won just 27% of the Hispanic vote. Bob Dole took only 21% of Hispanics in the 1996 presidential race. Dole had supported the 1986 immigration amnesty but also the 1994 California ballot initiative Proposition 187, which curtailed taxpayer funds for illegal immigrants.

But Trump marginally improved Romneys Hispanic vote share in 2016, if anything doubling down on a tough immigration enforcement message. Running for reelection, Trump won the highest share of the Hispanic vote of any GOP nominee since Bush in 2004.

Pandemic business closures, defund the police, and the rhetorical embrace of socialism by a subset of progressive Democrats were believed by strategists in both parties to have played a larger role in this swing than immigration. While Democrats could still regain momentum with these voters, as busing of immigrants explodes as a political issue, Republicans are now talking about becoming a multiracial working-class party.

Democrats may also be recalibrating. In his speech at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Gala, Biden mentioned the word "immigration" only once and "DREAMers" twice, though he did attack unnamed "Republican officials" for "political stunts" at the border.

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A shock Wall Street Journal poll taken earlier this year showed the two parties virtually tied among Hispanics in the generic congressional ballot and a hypothetical 2024 rematch between Biden and the former president, with most Hispanic men favoring Trump.

Latinos are more and more becoming swing voters. Theyre a swing vote that were going to have to fight for, John Anzalone, the Democratic pollster who worked on the Wall Street Journal survey, told the outlet at the time.

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Immigration might be overrated as key to Hispanic vote - Washington Examiner

By Felicia J. Persaud

News Americas, FORT LAUDERDALE, FL, Fri. Sept. 15, 2022: There are two vastly different immigration crises playing out currently in the United States. On the one hand there are the Republicans who say too many immigrants are coming over the border and they need to be sent back, flown away or bussed out, and on the other, there are the farmers who say there is a major labor shortage, and they need immigrant laborers.

The irony is what many advocates like me have said for decades now the same Americans against immigration and the immigrants coming over the border, do not want the jobs many immigrants are willing to take.

The result is the current labor shortage which has been exacerbated by the pandemic and is now resulting in higher food prices by more than 10 percent from last year, or empty store shelves for some consumers, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

So, while Texas Governor Greg Abbott is beaming as he buses immigrants out to other cities to score political points, farmers in his own state are hurting and cant fill jobs. The same is true in Florida, where Ron De Santis felt the need to take tax payer dollars and fly immigrants to Marthas Vineyard to also make a stupid political point that he is tough as his idol The Donald. This as the state also faces labor shortages.

This has caused the US to be now experiencing the highest 12-month increase in food prices since May 1979, according to the consumer price index. A 2022 Texas A&M University study commissioned by the American Business Coalition, a bipartisan group of 1,200 business leaders who advocate for immigration reform, found that having more migrant and H-2A workers were related to lower inflation, higher average wages and lower unemployment.

The study also found that more denied petitions for naturalizations are associated with larger consumer prices and higher inflation.

This can easily be resolved for the good of all beginning with the passage of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, which is pending in the Senate after having already passed the House. This measure will provide farmers with a stable reliable workforce by creating a path to citizenship for undocumented agricultural workers and reforming the seasonal farmworker visa program.

It also would establish a certified agricultural worker (CAW) status and changing the H-2A temporary worker program.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would be allowed to grant CAW status to an applying alien who: (1) performed at least 1,035 hours of agricultural labor during the two-year period prior to March 8, 2021; (2) on that date was inadmissible, deportable, or under a grant of deferred enforced departure or temporary protected status; and (3) has been continuously present in the United States from that date until receiving CAW status. DHS may also grant dependent status to the spouse or children of the migrant. It also authorizes the Department of Agriculture to provide various assistance, including funding for insuring loans and grants for new farmworker housing.

The bill also imposes additional crime-related inadmissibility grounds on CAW applicants and makes some other grounds inapplicable but an immigrant with a pending application may not be detained or removed by DHS and shall be authorized for employment until DHS makes a final decision on the application.

This makes it a great solution, but of course its still lagging in the Senate as Republicans prefer to play politics with immigration rather than find rational solutions. As such, we all are now paying the price literally!

The writer is publisher of NewsAmericasNow.com The Black Immigrant Daily News.

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The Irony Of Americas Immigration Crisis - Caribbean and Latin America Daily News - News Americas

With the Border Ablaze, 66 National and Local Talk Hosts Gather on Capitol Hill to Hold President Biden's and Congress' Feet to the Fire

WASHINGTON, Sept. 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --During its first year and a half in office, the Biden-Harris administration has created an unprecedented border, immigration, national security, public health, and humanitarian crisis along our southern border. Some 5 million illegal entries have been recorded since the president was sworn in, and an estimated 2.3 million have either been released into the country or eluded apprehension. At the same time, a record flow of lethal drugs is pouring across the same open border.

On September 21st and 22nd, 66 national and local talk radio hosts will broadcast live in Washington, D.C., at the Federation for American Immigration Reform's (FAIR) 15th Hold Their Feet to the Fire radio row in what has become the largest annual gathering of talk hosts in the country. The two-day event will focus on the failed immigration policies of the Biden-Harris administration and the Schumer-Pelosi-led Congress, holding them both accountable.

"The Biden-Harris administration has not only taken a torch to every aspect of U.S. immigration policy and law, with disastrous results, they are blatantly lying to the American public. Just this week, Vice President Harris claimed on national television that our borders are secure," charged Bob Dane, executive director of FAIR. "Sadly, the ideologically-driven mainstream news outlets refuse to report the extent of the damage the Biden-Harris administration has wrought on the American public. The American public knows it is being lied to, and the purpose of Hold Their Feet to the Fire is to make sure that the American people have the information they need to hold the administration and Congress accountable for their reckless and politically-driven policies by blanketing the nation's radio airwaves."

This year's Hold Their Feet to the Fire radio row will take place on the roof deck of 400 North Capitol Street, home to many of the nation's leading news organizations. Credentialed media are welcome to attend and speak to the dozens of radio hosts, members of Congress, immigration policy experts, law enforcement officials, and others who are participating.

When:

Wednesday September 21 and Thursday September 22 from 6:00 am until 8:00 pm.

Where:

The roof deck of 400 North Capitol Street on Capitol Hill. Look for signs in the lobby directing to a special reception desk. No RSVP required.

Who:

66 national and local talk radio hosts

Dozens of members of Congress

Former federal immigration enforcement officials

Dozens of sheriffs from across the country

Immigration policy experts

Angel Families and border residents

Contacts:

Ron Kovach 219.983.2964, [emailprotected]

Ira Mehlman 213.700.0407, [emailprotected]

ABOUT FAIR

Founded in 1979, FAIR is the country's largest immigration reform group. With over 3 million members and supporters nationwide, FAIR fights for immigration policies that serve national interests, not special interests. FAIR believes that immigration reform must enhance national security, improve the economy, protect jobs, preserve our environment, and establish a rule of law that is recognized and enforced.

SOURCE Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)

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FAIR's Hold Their Feet to the Fire Radio Row 2022 - PR Newswire

The fate of rural Wisconsin and the states struggling dairy industry depends on the fate of immigrant workers, according to speakers in a Monday Cap Times Idea Fest panel.

The conversation, How immigration is transforming rural Wisconsin, was moderated by Ruth Conniff, editor-in-chief of the Wisconsin Examiner and author of the new book MILKED: How an American Crisis Brought Together Midwestern Dairy Farmers and Mexican Workers.

Conniff spoke with two of the protagonists from her book, dairy farmer John Rosenow and his long-time employee Roberto Tecpile, along with Christine Neumann-Ortiz, founder and executive director of immigrant workers center Voces de la Frontera.

Twenty-five years ago, Rosenow said, he and his fellow Wisconsin dairy farmers were in the same position that so many restaurants and factories find themselves in now, struggling to attract and keep enough workers. He tried all the usual methods, from posting job ads to trying to recruit the employees of local farm supply stores.

I would go up to them and tell them, Well pay you more to come and work for us, but they wouldnt do it, Rosenow said. Nobody wants to work on a farm. They think the lowest job you could possibly have is to be a farm worker.

In a 2018 photo, Roberto Tecpile, left, a farm worker from Veracruz, Mexico, and John Rosenow, owner of Rosenholm dairy farm, pose for a portrait at the farm in Cochrane. Rosenows farm participates in the Puentes/Bridges program, a nonprofit organization that arranges annual trips to Mexico to help foster better understanding and relationships between farmers and their workers.

So, reluctantly, Rosenow began hiring immigrants from Mexico. It wasnt easy, he said, since he didnt speak Spanish and knew little about Mexican culture.

And it wasnt easy for the immigrant workers either, since the only visas available for agricultural workers in the U.S. are seasonal, designed for workers who harvest crops, not those who milk cows year-round.

The vast majority of people who are working on dairy farms in Wisconsin as immigrants arent here on a visa because there is no visa for that, Conniff explained. It seems like it would be relatively easy to fix to simply acknowledge an economic situation that's been going on for decades, that we rely so heavily on (year-round workers).

Living undocumented in Wisconsin comes with a variety of other challenges and risks, from not being able to visit family back home to fearing arrest every time time one gets behind the wheel. Immigrants in Wisconsin have been ineligible for drivers licenses since 2007, when, following the passage of the federal REAL ID Act, Wisconsin passed a law requiring legal status to receive a license.

People who work in construction or restaurants and have to go from the restaurant to their homes, its more difficult for them to get around, Tecpile said, explaining that he thinks of access to drivers licenses as a top priority for undocumented residents.

The fate of rural Wisconsin and its dairy industry depend on the fate of immigrant workers, according to speakers in a Monday Cap Times Idea Fest panel.

For years, Voces de la Frontera has been pushing the Legislature to grant drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants again, but such legislation has been defeated repeatedly. Neumann-Ortiz said the organization plans to hire a full-time organizer to focus on achieving state policy changes, to complement its work on promoting federal immigration reform.

She sees both opportunity and threat in the current political moment. It seemed like there was a real chance for immigration reform with President Joe Bidens Build Back Better social spending plan, she said, but the plan didnt pass. Meanwhile, the country is increasingly polarized, making it harder to rally bipartisan support.

The biggest thing we need is immigration reform, and it continues to (be) used politically as opposed to really just understanding the workers, the families, the communities, the economic need and the contributions, Neumann-Ortiz said.

As Rosenow sees it, the immigrant workers have saved his farm and those of some of the hundreds of farmers who called him after learning hed found an answer to their shared labor shortage. He even helped launch Puentes/Bridges, a nonprofit that takes U.S. dairy farmers to Mexico to learn about Mexican culture and even introduce farmers to the families of their own workers.

He believes immigrant workers will be the future of rural communities like his, just as immigrants from across Europe like his own Swiss ancestors helped make Wisconsins towns and farms what they are today.

It just makes sense that the new wave the people that want to live on farms and work on farms and find that work honorableare going to be the people that will be our successors. And I hope in my lifetime that I'm able to help them along with that, Rosenow said.

I would really, really like it, when I'm being carted off to the place I'm going to die that I can be comfortable in knowing that the farm is being run by my employees, my immigrant employees. That is my goal.

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Cap Times Idea Fest: How immigration could save the dairy industry - The Capital Times

Just in time for National Hispanic Heritage Month, the Texas Tribune, the Wall Street Journal, and us here at the Washington Examiner all have stories up about the growing numbers of Hispanic voters abandoning the Democratic Party and casting their ballots for Republicans.

While there are many reasons Hispanics better align with Republicans than Democrats (inflation, crime, public school curricula), a threshold issue for many Hispanics continues to be immigration. Just not in the way some thought.

The Wall Street Journal reports, The surprise to some in the Republican Party has been that it hasnt had to embrace liberalized immigration laws to draw more Latino voters. In interviews, many Latino voters said they support the partys call for tougher border security, which they said would reduce human trafficking and the movement of drugs and unaccompanied minors across the border.

The some here is the elite D.C. Republican consultant class the kind of people who wrote the 2012 Republican National Committee autopsy. That document did actually have useful things to say about modernizing how Republicans used data, but in its one foray into policy, the document recommended, We must embrace and champion comprehensive immigration reform.

Many Republicans took this advice to heart, including 14 Republican senators who voted with Democrats to give amnesty to over 10 million illegal immigrants. Fox News host Sean Hannity and former House Speaker John Boehner jumped on the amnesty bandwagon as well.

Luckily, then-Rep. Tom Cotton (R-AR) led the opposition to the Senates amnesty bill in the House, which eventually died without a vote. Cotton went on to defeat Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR), who had voted for the Senates amnesty plan.

President Donald Trump would later pick up where Cotton left off, running hard against the elite D.C. consultant consensus that Republicans must embrace comprehensive immigration reform in order to win national elections. Trump wasnt perfect on immigration issues consider his needlessly punitive child separation policy. But his "Remain in Mexico" policy did solve the 2019 border surge that had been caused by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

President Joe Biden, of course, reversed Trumps immigration policies. The results have been a total disaster. According to NPR, a majority of Americans now believe our country is being invaded and want Trumps border security policies back.

And Texas Hispanics in particular disapprove of Bidens immigration policies and want more border security to stop illegal immigrants from crossing the southern border.

If the GOP had gone soft on illegal immigration like the RNC autopsy recommended, they would be no different from Democrats on the issue today. Fortunately, Cotton and Trump ignored the D.C. consultant class, and now, Republicans are poised to make historic inroads with Hispanic voters.

Republicans would do well to ignore their D.C. consultants more often.

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We need to talk about the RNC's 2012 autopsy - Washington Examiner