How Biden Can Win Latinx Votes
From Bully Pulpit International:
Multiple reports are indicating that President Biden is charting a path forward to extend work permits for longterm immigrant spouses, creating a path to permanent residency that would not force them to leave the United States. Erendira Rendon, the Vice President of the Resurrection Project and an undocumented immigrant from Mexico with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status, published a piece on how President Biden can win Latinos in the Washington Post, extending work permits, and keeping families together.
In a response to a recent piece by Luis Miranda, chair of the Latino Victory Fund, Rendon emphasized that while immigration reform isn’t the only issue for Latino voters, it remains a critical concern for a substantial portion of the Latino population, especially those of Mexican origin and the millions living in mixed-status households. She urges President Biden to use his executive authority to grant legal status and work permits to undocumented spouses and parents of U.S. citizens, as well as to “dreamers” without DACA status.
In case you missed it…
By Erendira Rendon
As an undocumented immigrant from Mexico with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status, I was moved to respond to Luis Miranda’s May 31 op-ed, “Democrats are taking Latinos for granted.”
I agree with Mr. Miranda’s overriding point: The Latino community is diverse, and President Biden is in serious danger of losing our votes through neglect. I would like to add one point of clarification about what I see as the best way for Mr. Biden to remedy this lapse in attention.
Mr. Miranda writes that “Democrats often assume that immigration reform is their only hope of winning Latino voters.” He is correct that immigration reform is not the only issue of concern for Latino voters. By definition, Latino voters are at least five years into their immigration journey, the typical time one must be a permanent resident before becoming naturalized. They have moved on to other issues that more directly affect their families. And, of course, 9.7 percent of Latinos in the United States are Puerto Rican and therefore U.S. citizens, so immigration may never have been a pressing personal concern for them.
But for voters such as my sister-in-law, my aunts, uncles and cousins, and the more than 10 million U.S. citizens who live with an undocumented person, immigration reform is an existential issue. These voters are concentrated within the 60.5 percent of Latinos in the United States who are of Mexican origin. Our mixed-status households are highly vulnerable to drastic changes in immigration policy, such as an end to DACA.
It is likely that both parties will ignore the substantial Mexican American vote in reliably blue California or predictably red Texas. But Mexican American voters and mixed-status families could help determine who wins Arizona and Nevada and even other swing states, including Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Georgia.
Given this practical and political reality, I urge Mr. Biden to use his executive authority to grant legal status and work permits to the undocumented spouses and parents of U.S. citizens and to the “dreamers” without DACA status. President Barack Obama issued DACA to young undocumented immigrants like me in 2012. That fall, he won 71 percent of the Latino vote, up from 67 percent in 2008.
It would be humane for Mr. Biden to take this step. If he does so, he would also give millions of voters in families like mine an excellent reason to turn out and support his reelection.
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