In June 2012, as President Barack Obama campaigned for reelection, he ordered immigration enforcement agents to defer action against those who had arrived in the United States as children. This executive action, known as DACA, offered a path to work permits for hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants. That November, Obama cruised to reelection, beating Mitt Romney with a sweep of the Latino vote.
Watch the video above as Straight Arrow News contributor Ruben Navarrette explains Obama’s success in 2012 and argues why the Democrats’ current immigration strategies to woo the Latino vote are failing in comparison.
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So, faced with a mild-mannered Romney as an opponent, Obama and Democrats very shrewdly went with Plan B. That approach meant turning attention away from Romney and focusing instead on Latino voters. The goal was to convince them that there were other issues out there they should care about besides immigration — say, health care — where Obama had semi-delivered on his other promise to reform the health care system and provide coverage to Americans who lacked it. Obama was like this hypnotist at the county fair: “Don’t think about immigration,” he’d say, “concentrate on Obamacare.”
Well, now fast forward to 2024, where another Democratic president, Joe Biden, also finds himself with a terrible record on immigration, and lackluster numbers with Latinos. The problem this time isn’t deportations. It’s the fact that Biden is duplicating Trump’s harsh immigration enforcement policies, to the point where the American Civil Liberties Union, which sued Trump, is now preparing to sue Biden.
So the Obama messaging is back, with Democrats once again trying to convince Latinos that they don’t really care about immigration and look, there are always other issues out there, and they should look instead at some of Biden’s accomplishments. I know, give me a second, I’ll think of one.
Here’s the headline. If Democrats are angry and frustrated, they can’t seem to get Latinos frightened and riled up over Trump’s newest round of immigration threats, like conducting mass deportations, while Democrats only have themselves to blame. After all, they’re the ones who taught Latinos that, hey, there are other issues out there. Don’t get hung up on immigration.
Interested in opposing perspectives? Have a look at how our other contributors view this issue from across the political spectrum:
Star Parker: Biden’s immigration policies are all for show.
Newt Gingrich: On immigration, Trump will have a mountain to climb.