Democrats fear Latino backlash over immigration raids

Donald Trump’s stance against illegal immigration was supposed to drive Latino voters to help the Democratic Party candidate into the White House this November, but the controversial immigration raids spearheaded by the Obama administration could end up having a considerably different effect, even as presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders continue to fight it out prior to the California primary on June 7.

The immigration raids launched earlier this year by the Obama administration, and the news that such raids are going to be repeated, have incensed many, and advocacy groups fear that Latino volunteers and voters are losing their enthusiasm to support a party capable of implementing such contentious enforcement operations. Cristina Jimenez, managing director and co-founder of the immigrant youth network United We Dream, says the raids have caused both outrage and fatigue, and led to a blurring of the lines between the Presidential candidates.

A greater Latino involvement and turnout in the upcoming election had been predicted because of presumptive Republican Presidential candidate nominee Donald Trump’s stance on immigration, but now the immigration raids have made contacting potential Latino voters more difficult, particularly in families where some people have citizenship or legal status but others do not.

There have been no specific details yet released by the Obama administration about the next round of raids, which were revealed in a report by Reuters earlier this month. ICE officials have allegedly told their agents to be prepared for a surge of arrests over 30 days, said to be targeting undocumented women and children who are recent arrivals but have already been denied asylum.