By: Alexa Figueroa 🇸🇻
Immigration and reproductive rights are the most important policies for Latino DMV voters, according to a La Voz Latina survey.
The polls have closed, and Americans are awaiting the results of Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican nominee former President Donald Trump.
All – 41 respondents – cast their ballots today or voted early. Additionally, 8.2% stated that they intended to do same-day registration.
Harris’ main goal is to prevent a national abortion ban from being placed into law. She said she would sign a bill to restore reproductive freedom nationwide, according to her campaign website. Trump supports states in passing abortion laws and opposes late-term abortion, according to his campaign website.
[Most] Latino voters, from La Voz Latina’s survey, support Harris' reproductive rights policies, noting that access to safe abortions and the ability to terminate reproductive care if necessary are important concerns for them.
“Kamala’s campaign on abortion, it's just been very powerful for me... That's something that Donald Trump, he's more against of abortion. I think that he as a person, as a man and a politician, shouldn't be telling women what to do with their body,” said Blanca Ferrufino Gomez, a Montgomery County resident.
Saul Flores, a D.C. resident and son of Salvadoran parents, stated that religion and machismo is a big reason why many Latinos plan to vote for Trump in this election.
In the DMV area, there is a combined Latino and Hispanic population of 33.6%, according to the 2020 census. In the previous election, among evangelical Latino voters, 43% said Trump should remain a political figure.
“Across the U.S., we've historically been democratic, but recently, there's this huge wave of very conservative-leaning Latinos,” Flores said. “Now, you actually have these people who are sometimes being misinformed and falling into these weird conspiracy theories, and they're just being reactionary.”
Latino voters told La Voz Latina that Harris’ proposed policy regarding restoring and expanding the Child Tax Credit, which provides a $6,000 tax cut to families with newborn children, is important to them.
Political signs at Rollingcrest-Chillum Community Center in Chillum, MD on Oct.26, 2024 (Alexa Figueroa)
Brandon Hernandez, a Maryland resident, took on the role of a caretaker for his siblings when he was younger and says that a tax credit would have helped his family during that time.
“Growing up, my mom [was] always working. I think that definitely would have been something that would have helped her…If she could afford a babysitter, maybe that would have been a better situation overall,” Hernandez said.
On the issue of immigration, Trump plans to carry out the largest deportation operation in American history. Harris intends to bring back the bipartisan border security bill and sign it into law, as well as implement “strong border security and an earned pathway to citizenship,” according to her campaign website.
The American Immigration Council reports that a one-time deportation operation would cost at least $315 billion.
Mikaela Campos, a Maryland resident, said that her mother is an immigrant and feels as though Harris presented an opportunity for immigrants around the country to have a pathway to citizenship.
“The way I see it is that I'm not really just representing myself. I'm representing them [her family] because obviously they can't vote,” Campos said.
*Randy Chow, Maximo Legaspi, Mark Aguilar, Emely Miranda-Aguilar and Princess Tatsi all collaborated on this article.*
Commentaires