As the presidential race enters its final month, Vice President Kamala Harris sat down for a town hall in Las Vegas on Thursday with undecided Latino voters who lamented a “broken” immigration system and the rising cost of housing, health care and groceries.
In a roughly hourlong taped discussion hosted by Univision, set to be broadcast Thursday evening, Harris heard from people including a woman struggling with the recent death of her undocumented mother, another who has faced roadblock after roadblock since she was diagnosed with long COVID and “lost everything,” a man who wants to see a pathway to citizenship for so-called “DREAMers” and a man who appeared skeptical of Harris’ rise to the top of the Democratic ticket this summer.
In response, Harris touted her policy proposals and reflected on her middle-class upbringing as she sought to reassure the undecided voters that she would be the best candidate to provide more opportunities for immigrants and bring change to the nation’s health care system.
At times, though, Harris spoke in platitudes — rehashing her typical campaign themes of empathy and dignity — without answering the questions directly. She also did not unveil any new policy proposals.
The conversation revealed the topics that matter most to undecided Latino voters, a crucial voting bloc in the Silver State that could determine which candidate wins the state’s six electoral votes — and perhaps, the presidency.
About 20 percent of Nevada’s registered voters are Latino and about half of them are not members of either major party, according to an analysis from the NALEO Education Fund, a Latino political group. Latinos also have more political power in Nevada than ever before and have grown at a faster rate than Nevada’s overall population, The Indy found.
Recent polling shows that Harris has been struggling to consolidate the overwhelming support she may need among Latinos to win the state. A September poll from Televisa/Univision found that although Harris is outperforming former President Donald Trump with the constituency (51 percent to 39 percent) she continues to trail behind President Joe Biden’s levels of support in 2020.
Campaigns are well aware of the group’s importance. Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) participated in a phone banking event with Latino communities on Tuesday, and Trump will hold a roundtable with Latinos on Saturday in Henderson alongside Rosen’s Republican opponent, Sam Brown. Trump also plans to hold a town hall hosted by Univision next week in Miami.
And ahead of Thursday’s town hall, the Democratic National Committee plastered bilingual billboards and placed print Spanish-language ads throughout Las Vegas.
While it’s unclear how all of the 75 attendees were leaning in the election, Mario Sigbaum, a 70-year-old immigrant from Uruguay, said he was leaning toward Trump. He said he was wary of Biden’s decision to step aside from the race earlier this year and Harris’ quick ascent to secure the nomination.
Harris acknowledged that the situation might be “unprecedented,” but she said it did not change the stakes of the race.
“This is an unusual time where we as the American people are choosing the rule of law and democracy or admiring dictators and autocracy,” she said.
Immigration
Ivett Castillo, an operations manager, recalled through tears how her mother died just six weeks ago. Even though her father had obtained citizenship, her mother was never able to, which reduced the amount of care she received.
“She was never, ever able to get the type of care and services she deserved,” said Castllo, who asked how Harris would ensure better health systems for these immigrants.
In response, Harris referred to a bill the Biden administration introduced on its first day in office that would have expanded pathways to citizenship, but it never got off the ground because of Republican opposition.
“Had your mother been able to gain citizenship, she would have been entitled to health care,” Harris said. “This is one example of the fact that there are real people who are suffering because of an inability to put solutions in front of politics.”
Harris also referred to the bipartisan immigration bill that GOP senators rejected at the behest of Trump. The bill, which received some pushback from immigration advocates, proposed that the U.S. would stop accepting most asylum claims if the number of migrant encounters reached a certain limit.
Jesus Auspuro recalled how many of his classmates in college were “Dreamers,” which are people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children. He asked Harris how she would protect them.
“They had to live day by day, and had that fear in them,” Auspuro said.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) was instituted by former President Barack Obama, and the Biden administration has sought to save it amid years of court battles. Its status is currently in flux, and Harris reiterated her support of having a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients.
As a presidential candidate in 2019, Harris supported using executive action to give DACA recipients a pathway to citizenship, but she has not reiterated that position of late.
“One of the biggest problems with failure to have a comprehensive plan for immigration is that we have not given them the pathway to earn their right to citizenship,” Harris said.
Health care
Marta, who did not provide her last name, recounted her story of having a heart attack in 2020 and being diagnosed with long COVID shortly after, leaving her unemployed and homeless. Three years ago, she applied for Social Security disability insurance, but she said she still has never heard back.
“Because [I’m] low income, I lost everything. I have no health insurance. I can’t get medical treatment that I need,” Marta said. “My question for you is, how will you help disabled people so that they can get insurance?”
Harris touted the Biden administration’s efforts to have long COVID included as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act and shared her proposal to forgive medical debt for millions of Americans, though specifics of the plan are unclear.
Francisco Medina, a Californian who was born in Mexico, works for the Department of Defense and recalled having to wait two years to get an MRI that he needed.
“The times that we have to wait … are ridiculous,” Medina said.
Harris said she was “sorry it took so long” for Medina to get his care and otherwise championed the Biden administration’s efforts to protect the Affordable Care Act and lower monthly insulin prices to $35 monthly for Medicare recipients. The administration also helped place a $2,000 annual cap on prescription drug costs for seniors, and Harris said she wants to expand that to everyone.
“The work that we must do is about understanding health care is a right,” Harris said. “It should not just be a privilege of those who have access to it.”
