Trump administration responds to María Elvira Salazar: No amnesty for irregular immigration ‘whether you like it or not’
The Republican congresswoman said in a campaign video that Washington’s immigration offensive has gone ‘too far’ and has left many Latinos feeling betrayed
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has responded to Republican congresswoman María Elvira Salazar’s statement questioning Donald Trump’s immigration policy and saying it has gone “too far.”
The agency that oversees bodies such as U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Border Patrol sent a reply to EFE saying that “there will be no amnesty” for undocumented immigrants “whether Congresswoman Salazar likes it or not,” and that the men and women of ICE are enforcing laws passed by Congress.
“Under the leadership of President Trump and the [DHS] secretary [Markwayne Mullin], there will be no amnesty for illegal immigrants. Not now, not ever,” the DHS added, reaffirming its intention to continue the mass-deportation campaign promised by the Republican.
The confrontation opens a rift between the Trump administration and one of the best-known Hispanic congresswomen in Washington less than two months before the November 3 midterm elections. Salazar, who represents Florida’s 27th District, which has a large Latino majority (at over 70%), is seeking a fourth term in the House of Representatives and faces a close race against Democrat Eliott Rodríguez.
Although Salazar has for months been carefully questioning some of the government’s immigration decisions, on Thursday she went all out with the release of a campaign video in which she addresses Trump directly to warn him about the consequences of his decisions. “Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far,” the Cuban-American congresswoman said.
The message came after months of ramped-up immigration operations in South Florida, where arrests have sparked fear in Hispanic communities. ICE detained 50,925 people in August, the agency’s highest monthly total on record and the third consecutive record after 43,900 arrests in June and 50,208 in July.
Salazar specifically highlighted the profiles of those detained. In the video she noted that roughly half of the people arrested by ICE in July had no criminal record. The congresswoman — who has backed much of Trump’s agenda but has also introduced a bill called the Dignity Act that seeks a pathway to legal status for foreigners who have lived in the United States for more than five years — asked the president to reconsider the direction of the operations.
Increasingly tight electoral battle
Salazar’s public break with Trump also coincides with signs that her re-election bid may be tighter than it was two years ago. A Bendixen & Amandi International poll conducted in late August puts the Republican in a tie with Rodríguez, each with 45% of the vote, in a survey of 600 likely voters commissioned by Rodríguez’s campaign.
That represents a notable shift from 2024, when Salazar won the 27th District by more than 20 points. Trump also carried the district comfortably in the last presidential election. Salazar, who has typically adopted a nuanced position on immigration — two years ago she was a staunch supporter of allocating billions to ICE and the Border Patrol — is now trying to distance herself from the most aggressive aspects of that same offensive as part of a segment of her electorate criticizes her for not speaking out sooner against the authorities’ crackdown.
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