Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage Wednesday during the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute's leadership conference in Washington, warning attendees against a second Trump presidency— which she says would include "mass deportations" and "massive detention camps." She also advocated for immigration reform.
During her address, the Vice President emphasized on the Biden administration's work expanding healthcare access to participants of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, adding that providing a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers is among her goals if she wins the White House.
"We can and we must do both," Harris said about providing a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants while also securing the border and reducing unlawful immigration.
"As we fight to move our nation forward to a brighter future, Donald Trump and his extremist allies will keep trying to pull us backward. We all remember what they did to tear families apart and now they have pledged to carry out the largest deportation, a mass deportation..." she continued.
She also zeroed in on her family background and her work fighting for middle-class families and abortion rights.
"Today, 40% of Latinas live in a state with an abortion ban," Harris said. "Understand that the majority of women who seek abortion care are mothers, understand what that means for having to travel out of state to seek care."
Harris spoke to members seeking to represent the interests of a demographic that is key to electing the next president. Latinos were part of the coalition that helped elect President Joe Biden in 2020, but before he ended his reelection bid in July, he was bleeding support from the group. Latino leaders say Harris' candidacy has provided a burst of energy in the Hispanic community, but that she still has work to do, according to The Washington Post.
A recent New York Times/ Siena poll found Harris leading Trump among Latinos by 14 points, as she garnered 55% of Hispanic likely voters to Trump's 41%.
Latinos are also crucial to Harris' bid on some battleground states, like Arizona and Nevada.
In fact, a recent poll suggests Latinos in both of those states are leaning toward Harris over Trump. But she doesn't appear to have won over enough Latinos to get the boost she'll likely need to win those states, as many of them want Democrats to strike a balance between better border security and respecting the needs of U.S. citizens and legal residents, Axios reports.
That is why the Vice President urged Latino leaders from across the country to help her mobilize Hispanic voters during Wednesday's speech.
"I truly believe that America is ready to turn the page on the politics of division and hate. And to do it, our nation is counting on the leaders here. Your power. Your activism," Harris said. "Each of us has a job to do."
© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
