Sonia Villamizar may have been an American for 20 years, but she is only planning to vote for the first time in November, in a presidential election where debates over immigration are raging.
But neither side satisfies this thirty-year-old, originally from Peru.
“I don’t see what plan they really have to help immigrants,” she told AFP this week at a civil rights conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, one of the key states in the election.
To keep the White House in November, Democrats will have to convince undecided voters like Mme 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 to vote, according to Clarissa Martinez de Castro of the organization UnidosUS.
The Democratic camp is therefore investing massively in advertising campaigns and bilingual events in the southwestern states, such as Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas.
This week, President Joe Biden canceled his attendance at a Latino rally in Las Vegas after testing positive for COVID-19.
Combating abstention
The 81-year-old president’s candidacy has been weakened since his disastrous debate with Donald Trump: many figures on the left are calling on him to step aside in favor of a younger candidate.
But whoever the Democratic candidate is in November, the electoral equation 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,” said Francisco Aguilar, Nevada’s election official.
But according to the Democratic representative, “only half” of Latin Americans registered on the electoral rolls vote.
Combating abstention is therefore the absolute priority, adds Adrian Pontes, his counterpart from Arizona.
Mobilizing this electorate remains difficult, however, “if we don’t pay attention to it until two or three weeks before election day,” criticizes this Democrat.
Long taken for granted, Latin American support for the left has eroded in recent years.
Since Joe Biden’s disastrous debate, Donald Trump has been on par with him among this electorate, with 36% of voting intentions, according to a Pew Research Center poll.
Immigration is a thorny issue for the Democratic president, even among Latinos: some accuse him of laxity in the face of mass arrivals at the border, others criticize him for his lack of immigration reforms.
Immigration and economy
The Biden administration is trying to have it both ways.
On the one hand, it has just adopted major restrictions allowing the border to be closed beyond a certain quota of arrivals. On the other, it has 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.”
The 34-year-old Dominican has had her green card for a decade, but finds the path to citizenship too costly and bureaucratic.
“We pay taxes, we start from scratch 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 on the first day of his possible return to the White House.
A radical position that resonates with many Latin Americans who have been established in the United States for a long time and have 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.
“Before, you could hope to buy a house here,” sighs Jose Suarez, in Las Vegas. “Now? 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 prevailing indecision, the community will remain anchored on the left, assures union leader Susie Martinez.
“A lot of Trump’s agenda is not going to help Latinos. It’s going to help […] the rich and corporations,” she argues.
“Ultimately, Latinos know what’s important.”