RNC highlights Las Vegas Latina’s support for Trump amid immigration debate

MILWAUKEE — Linda Fornos, who left her native Nicaragua 16 years ago in search of a better life in the United States, voted for President Joe Biden in 2020.

Four years later, the Las Vegas resident is throwing her support behind Donald Trump.

The reason: Biden’s immigration policy is hurting her family, she says.

Fornos relayed her story during a prime-time appearance Monday night at the Republican National Convention as the party jockeys with Democrats to obtain the support of Latinos — a voting bloc that could determine the 2024 election between Biden and Trump, especially in swing state Nevada, where 32% of Clark County residents are Latino.

Fornos said her family of three combines to work six jobs but still struggles to make ends meet. She lays the blame on the Biden economy, which she said was driving prices through the roof. Her message to the Latino community: “It’s time to wake up” and support Trump.

Trump is planning to bring back many of the immigration policies of his first administration.

Agenda47, which details his plans if elected, includes prohibiting undocumented immigrants from receiving benefits, pausing refugee admissions, blocking federal funding to sanctuary cities, and ending catch-and-release. That’s when migrants to the southern border seeking asylum are released while they await immigration hearings.

That’s only the beginning.

Trump is promising the biggest mass deportation program in American history, where those who have committed crimes would be prioritized, the party said. It “is committed to sending illegal aliens back home and removing those who have violated our laws.”

Fornos said that when she came to the United States, “I embraced the values of hard work, learning the language and respecting the laws. It’s the American thing to do.”

Under Biden, Fornos said, “it is upsetting to see million of dollars being sent to help immigrants who came here illegally, while hard-working families who did it the right way are left struggling.”

Trump’s plan has plenty of obstacles, such as identifying who the “criminals” are. Detractors say the effort would take decades to orchestrate, because the immigration court system would have to expand.

Kevin Munoz, a senior spokesperson for the Biden campaign, said the Republicans’ focus on immigration at the convention lacked “a plan to secure our border.”

“You didn’t hear about a plan to reduce crime. You didn’t hear anything about getting guns out of the hands of criminals. Because they aren’t here to lead — they are here to divide,” he said. “Joe Biden is ... taking real action to secure our border and protect American families — not attack and vilify immigrants with ineffective policies.”

Immigration will be one of the key issues over the next months of campaigning leading to the November election. The recurring message at the Republican convention is that Biden’s “open border” policies have led to devastating consequences.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has reported record-breaking encounters during the initial three years of Biden’s term — reaching 2.4 million last year. In the two years prior to his time in office, the encounter rate was less than 1 million, according to the agency’s data.

Immigration is one of the most prevalent issues on the mind of Nevada delegate Jesus Marquez, who is part of “Latinos for Trump.”

Marquez said people who come to the U.S. unlawfully are “getting ahead” of Latinos who entered the country legally. He cited this as one of the reasons he has seen a shift in his community’s attitude toward Trump, with an uptick in the Republican nominee’s favor.

“Back in 2016, Donald Trump was an outsider. He came in and he was still rejected by the old Republican Party that doesn’t represent me, doesn’t represent the new America,” Marquez said. He said this “new” party features more diversity within the party, with Latino voters as an important part of it.

The Biden administration issued an executive order in June barring migrants who crossed illegally from seeking asylum. U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported a significant decline in migrant crossings after the order, reporting the lowest southwest border encounters since January 2021.

Biden’s executive order came after Republicans in Congress shut down a proposal Biden supported that called for increased border patrol, funding fentanyl detection technology and shutting down the border “when the system is too overwhelmed.”

“I’ve come here today to do what the Republicans in Congress refuse to do: take the necessary steps to secure our border,” Biden said the day the executive order was issued.

Immigrants the government considers legal noncitizens can receive federal assistance programs, like Medicaid, but experts said these communities receive less funding than commonly thought. Some research suggests that blue-collar jobs traditionally done by immigrants have a positive fiscal impact.

Juan Palma, Las Vegas resident who retired from the Bureau of Land Management, believes the economic footprint of the Latino community can’t be overstated.

“You look at all the construction, you look at the casino work, everywhere you look, there is definitely the footprint of the Latino community that is helping fuel this economic growth,” Palma said.

Palma has seen many people fearful of living under Trump’s immigration policies again, mentioning the candidate’s separation of families as a zero-tolerance means of deterring migration. And, of course, the party’s official platform includes carrying out the “largest deportation operation in American history.”

Palma agreed with Marquez that he noticed more members of the Latino community drawn to the Trump campaign. He said he’s heard some people express a sense of unfairness that asylum seekers can stay until their case is heard, while the red tape of green card or the naturalization process takes much longer.

But the solution is not mass deportations or directing anger at those immigrating, but instead, providing more staff resources and judges to address the backlog of cases, he said.

“I think there are a lot of people that are here in the United States, in Las Vegas, who would like to be legally here and are going through the process, but it just takes a long, long time,” said Palma, who lived with his green card until he received citizenship at 18 years old.

He eventually earned two college degrees, realizing that he “was one of those fortunate people that was able to work my way in the system, And I think there’s an awful lot of other stories out there (of immigrants who did the same).”

Republicans at the convention stressed that they weren’t against Latinos or other immigrants — just those who are entering the country illegally.

Nevada GOP Chairman Michael McDonald said his three godsons are first-generation Mexican Americans.

“All we’re asking is that you recognize what the laws are, follow the law and make sure they have an easier path to citizenship,” McDonald said.

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