Part of the post-mortem conversation about the 2024 election surrounds slippage in Latino men voting to support Democratic candidates. At least one Republican strategist told CNN this gives the party the mandate to start delivering on promises made by Donald Trump, even if that means deporting their families.
"When you look at the mandate and the sheer numbers, it is going to be [about] doing what you said you're going to do, which is let's focus on the economy and getting some of these ridiculous regulations peeled back. Let's focus on the extenders that are going to expire, so we can have an agenda and focus on immigration," said Machalagh Carr, former chief of staff to ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
Democratic strategist Maria Cardona said several Latino groups conducted a massive exit poll of about 3,000 Latino voters asking what influenced their votes. Their tilt toward Trump was in large part due to agreements with his overall economic message.
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"They don't believe he is going to embark on this mass deportation, which is very worrisome, because that was exactly what he said he was going to do," said Cardona.
She noted that the first comments came from his campaign press secretary when it was clear what was on Trump's agenda.
In an interview with Fox News, campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Trump will launch the "largest mass deportation operation" of undocumented immigrants on day one.
"That means passively separating families. Tragic images of kids who are U.S. citizens. Children separated from their mothers and fathers," said Cardona.
Carr was shocked and called for ending "hyperbole" and "fearmongering." She said Trump never said he was going to separate families. Cardona asked how that will work with children born in the U.S. and are citizens, but their parents are undocumented and being deported.
"If the administration is going to embark on mass deportation it means deporting the 12 to 20 million they believe are here," she continued. "That meant separating families."
"Well, the good news is that there are so many millions, and millions and millions of illegal immigrants who are — have criminal records, who are coming in under the Biden/Harris administration that it's going to take us a long time to catch up. So why don't we just start with what he's saying," said Carr.
Cardona wished her "good luck," noting that "there will be families separated if, in fact, that's what he's doing."
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