DNC Days 1 and 2 Featured Latinas and Latinos

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The first two days of the Democratic National Convention featured several podium speeches from Latina and Latino voices during prime viewing hours. Thanks to the volunteer work from the fabulous Jerónimo Saldaña of OnPoint Studios (support Latino-led businesses), The Latino Newsletter shared several clips of speeches on all our social networks.

We are also adding them here.

DISCLAIMER: We have access to the free livestream and are posting these videos to highlight Latino and Latina voices this week. This does not mean that we endorse at all the Democratic Party or its positions. We are independent journalists and sharing public information for our community, who is smart to make decisions for themselves. They always have been.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY)

Rep. Robert Garcia (CA)

Ana Navarro, DNC Day 2 Host

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham

It will be interesting to see what Days 3 and 4 will bring. There are still plenty of Latina and Latino Democratic politicians and voices out there. Stay tuned.

By the way, speaking of TikTok, the clip of the Puerto Rico delegation during the musical DNC Roll Call has garnered more than 51,000 views so far on our channel (and growing).

@thelatinonewsletter

This is the #PuertoRico DNC delegation #dncrollcall

What We’re Reading

Kamala Harris and Border Security: A Wednesday morning story by Axios’ Russell Contreras says “nearly half of all Latinos in the poll (49%) think presumptive Democratic nominee Harris is better on border security than Biden.” This is based on a new Axios Vibes survey released this week.

The Axios Latino Tuesday story noted that “Democrats have closed a 15-point enthusiasm gap with Latino voters in the weeks since President Biden dropped his re-election bid.”

Voto Latino Poll: María Teresa Kumar of Voto Latino (VL), tweeted the following earlier on Wednesday:

VL officially endorsed Harris on July 21, so these swing stae results should always be looked through that lens, but a survey that shows Donald Trump at 29% with Latinos? Those are 2016 numbers, suggesting this may be an outlier for 2024. Still, by now, it is hard to not conclude that Harris is performing better with Latinos than President Biden, although the new level of support is not near the historically high national Latino support for Democratic presidential candidates.

The jury is still out on that one, and there will be a lot more about this over the next couple of weeks.

New UnidosUS Border Plan: On Wednesday, UnidosUS published what it says is “its first comprehensive plan to address ongoing challenges in the U.S.-Mexico border,” according to a media release.

This is what the release said about solutions:

The UnidosUS Border Plan crystalizes the balanced approach to immigration that Latino voters demand, combining increased investments in border security with policies to support legal migration and treat all people with dignity and respect. Specifically, UnidosUS proposes: 

1. Firm and enforceable rules at the border, including investments in U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) resources and staffing to combat human trafficking and drug smuggling, incentivizing individuals to seek asylum at official ports of entry and a metered, staged process for better managing the custody release of migrants. 

2. Giving migrants a fair shot at entering the U.S. legally through expanded legal pathways, increased staffing and resources for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to process migrant applications and allow for USCIS adjudication of asylum cases at the border. 

3. Investing in cruelty-free immigration policies within U.S. borders that provide relief to the long-term undocumented and promote self-sufficiency for new migrants. 

The full report is below.

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