Even in California, Latino Dems can’t agree on Biden’s border policy

“The Latino Caucus is steadfast in our commitment to vehemently oppose anti-immigrant or fear-mongering rhetoric that dehumanizes individuals who are risking their lives,” said Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes. “As a nation, we cannot afford to return to Trump-era immigration policies that threaten the lives of refugees or delegitimize migrants for the sake of political expediency.” The Congressional Hispanic Caucus, chaired by Democratic California Rep. Nanette Barragán, called the order “deeply concerning,” saying in a statement that “enforcement-only strategies have repeatedly proven ineffective and only create more chaos at the border.” U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, a traditional Biden ally and fervent immigration advocate, slammed the executive order as having “undermined American values and abandoned our nation’s obligations to provide people fleeing persecution, violence, and authoritarianism with an opportunity to seek refuge in the U.S.” On the other side, California Rep. Salud Carbajal from the moderate New Democrat Coalition was among those who attended the signing and praised Biden as “taking decisive, commonsense action to restore order at the southern border.” Also defending Biden were U.S. Sen. Laphonza Butler plus Reps. Mike Levin and Jim Costa, as well as Gov. But Democrats’ share of the Latino vote has declined and polls show this key demographic increasingly supports restrictions including a border wall. “The old narrative doesn’t work anymore.” Madrid, whose forthcoming book “The Latino Century” examines how Latinos are moving beyond an ethnic voting bloc to being more motivated by economic concerns, said the fastest-growing segment of Latino voters are those under 30 who are a generation or more removed from recently-arrived immigrants.