South Florida Latino Trump voters stand by him, but question his immigration policies

1 week ago 6

MIAMI — After 4 months with President Donald Trump astatine the helm, Reinerio de la Torre says he's waiting to spot if the president fulfills his promises.

The 56-year-old electrician, who came from Cuba 18 years ago, voted for Trump successful November. But helium says the president has gone excessively acold with immigration, and helium doesn’t similar to spot hardworking radical being deported. De la Torre besides disagrees with the partial question ban connected Cuba, saying “visas should beryllium decided lawsuit by case.”

“But it’s inactive aboriginal successful the presidency and we person to springiness him clip to spot what helium does,” de la Torre said extracurricular Hialeah’s City Hall, wherever roosters were heard crowing successful the background. The thoroughfare that runs crossed from it was precocious named aft the president.

Patricia, 52, who declined to springiness her past name, echoed de la Torre’s sentiment. “He is deporting guiltless people, and I don’t similar the tariffs, but possibly astatine the extremity it volition beryllium for the better,” she said.

About 70% of Cuban Americans surviving successful Florida voted for Trump successful the 2024 election, and his enactment successful Hialeah, a working-class metropolis successful Miami-Dade County with a robust Cuban American population, was 1 of the strongest. Trump held a rally present 1 twelvemonth earlier the predetermination and the emergence successful enactment helium got helped him go the archetypal Republican president to triumph Miami-Dade County since George H.W. Bush successful 1988.

Donald Trump supporters hole to commencement a caravan successful Hialeah, Fla., connected July 14, 2024.

While Trump's enactment among Cuban Americans remains beardown and fewer look to regret their vote, worries implicit migration policies person begun to creep up among the aggregate voters NBC News spoke to, particularly among much caller arrivals.

Cuban Americans began flocking toward Trump successful large numbers during his archetypal presidency, arsenic helium tightened U.S. sanctions against Cuba, banning flights to astir of the land and restricting remittances. A hard-line argumentation is welcomed by galore Cuban Americans who fled the communist-run island.

A historic wave has brought good implicit fractional a cardinal of Cuban migrants to the U.S. since 2022. Cubans had agelong been allowed to go U.S. residents reasonably easy done the Cuban Adjustment Act, but present Trump’s migration policies person near immoderate Cuban immigrants successful ineligible limbo.

Trump besides revoked the ineligible presumption of migrants who entered the U.S. done the Biden-era CBP One app, which temporarily allowed migrants to unrecorded successful the U.S., and ended the parole program that gave impermanent ineligible presumption to 532,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans.

While the U.S. has been deporting Cubans regularly since 2017, immoderate caller deportations person amazed some. News of families being separated oregon a former governmental prisoner's parole being revoked have alarmed immoderate successful the community.

Trump administration’s partial question prohibition connected Cuba present makes it intolerable for Cubans to summation a visa to sojourn family, thing that was already cumbersome since the U.S. stopped processing visas astatine the Havana embassy successful 2017. For astir visas, Cubans had to question to a 3rd country, often Guyana, which is retired of scope for astir Cubans.

But Cuban Americans voted for Trump for much than hard-line policies against Cuba, and astir seemed contented with his presidency frankincense far.

Mirta Marino, 78, a retired slope worker, said, “Trump is making pugnacious argumentation decisions, but they are indispensable to hole the country.”

She said galore Cubans travel to this state claiming governmental persecution but often sojourn the land aft they go U.S. residents. Marino, who came successful 1980 during the Mariel boatlift, said she ne'er returned. She besides believes immoderate radical travel to this state and instrumentality vantage of benefits without working.

A fewer miles distant successful the metropolis of Doral, known for its attraction of Venezuelans, galore patrons astatine the fashionable El Arepazo edifice are inactive firmly supporting Trump arsenic well.

Rodrigo Torres, 22, a concern owner, said helium feels atrocious for each the Venezuelans affected by Trump’s migration policies, but helium said it helps to get the criminals retired of the country.

About half of the radical deported successful February did not person transgression records and much than fractional of those successful ICE detention person nary transgression charges oregon convictions, according to ICE data.

“There are radical getting deported for nary reason,” Torres said. “But I would inactive ballot for Trump implicit Harris.”

Like successful Hialeah, a coagulated bulk successful Doral voted for Trump successful 2024. The metropolis is location to 1 of the president’s resorts, wherever helium held events and rallies earlier the election.

Venezuelans whitethorn beryllium the radical astir impacted by Trump’s migration policies. Since helium was campaigning, Trump regularly talked astir Venezuelan gangs successful the U.S.

“They’re sending america our criminals from Caracas, Venezuela,” Trump said astatine a July 2024 rally successful Doral, claiming Venezuela had sent “all of their cause dealers, their criminals, and astir of their prisoners into our country.”

Once successful office, Trump utilized an 18th-century wartime instrumentality to nonstop hundreds of Venezuelan immigrants to a maximum information situation successful El Salvador, alleging they had ties to the pack Tren de Aragua — thing galore of the migrants’ families and attorneys person disputed. The men person not been allowed to disprove immoderate pack affiliation oregon interaction attorneys oregon families. Trump besides revoked peculiar ineligible protections known arsenic Temporary Protected Status for astir 350,000 Venezuelans who had been surviving and moving legally successful the U.S.

Outside El Arepazo, Carolina Villalobo said she did not ballot successful the statesmanlike predetermination due to the fact that she is not yet a citizen, but said she ne'er liked Trump.

“He is precise aggressive,” she said. “I hold the state has to beryllium cleaned retired and the criminals should beryllium deported, but it should beryllium done with much tact.”

But among her extended family, including siblings and nephews, she’s alone.

“My full household continues supporting Trump,” Villalobo said.

'They surely are feeling the pressure'

The steadfast enactment for Trump successful South Florida is not astonishing to Fernand Amandi, a Democratic advisor and pollster successful Miami.

“I haven’t seen a azygous idiosyncratic who voted for Trump successful November of 2024 travel retired and say: I made a mistake,” helium said. “What I person seen is simply a tremendous magnitude of rationalization, justification and unwillingness to admit that their votes person contributed to this concern that is present impacting a batch of families and a batch of radical directly.”

In bid to person a important fig of voters alteration their minds, Amandi said, determination would person to beryllium a concern successful which the system hits stone bottommost and it’s personally affecting them.

Regardless, Democrats are already taking jabs astatine Republican lawmakers successful South Florida that are up for re-election successful November 2026. Recently, a radical called Keep Them Honest launched an ad campaign connected Miami highways and vigor criticizing Republican Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart, Carlos Giménez and Maria Elvira Salazar implicit their enactment for Trump.

Salazar has been publically captious astir immoderate of Trump’s migration policies and each 3 lawmakers have a meeting scheduled with Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem this week.

“They surely are feeling pressure, they surely are feeling immoderate backlash, but I’m not rather definite yet it’s to the constituent wherever it has made them consciousness similar they are successful existential governmental danger,” said Amandi of the Florida Republican members of Congress. “We spot it successful their deficiency of engagement oregon confrontation with the Trump medication straight ... they’re not criticizing the policies oregon Trump, saying this is retired of power and unacceptable.”