Las Vegas— Vice President Kamala Harris questions about immigration, the economy and health at a town hall with Univision Thursday. Polls suggest the issue is critical for the Latino voting bloc, and many of the questions are being asked by people with personal and emotional stories to tell.
Supporting “Dreamers,” pin blames Trump for bipartisan border bill
Jesus Aispuro, a first-time selectman from California, told Harris that he has friends who are “Dreamers,” undocumented immigrants who were brought to the country as children. Pressing him on what he would do to protect Dreamers under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, Harris said he would prioritize an immigration plan that creates a path to citizenship.
Responding to the case in front of him federal appeals court through the handing over of DACA, the Harris campaign issued a statement during the town hall saying that Harris “will always stand with the Dreamers and keep their families together” and urging Congress to pass “the path to obtain citizenship for these young people.”
Yvette Castillo began her questioning by noting that she and Harris had something in common: both of their mothers were dead. Castillo noted that his mother died six weeks ago, and while he was alive, he was unsuccessful in obtaining US citizenship. Harris’ mother died in 2009.
“What is your plan to support a subgroup of immigrants who have been here all their lives and have to live and die in the shadows?” Castillo asked.
Harris repeatedly thanked Castillo for his loss, and then said that the bipartisan border bill that former President Donald Trump lobbied Republican lawmakers to vote against could have created “a full path to citizenship for hard-working people.”
He later argued that the failure to enforce the law was responsible for Castillo’s mother’s outcome.
“If your mother can get citizenship, she will always have the right to health care that can reduce her and your suffering. And this is one example of the fact that there are people who are suffering because they can’t offer a solution. on the political front,” added Harris.
The Latino vote is crucial to Harris’ path to the White House, and polls show it will be a more competitive battle than in 2020. Harris has an 18-point advantage over former president Donald Trump, according to a September CBS News poll. That’s a smaller gap compared to President Joe Biden’s 33-point advantage with Latino voters in a 2020 CBS News exit poll.
“The biggest segment of undecided voters right now is still in the Latino community. So, by doing town halls like this, it’s going to places like Arizona … Rep. Robert Garcia of California said after the debate.
“Latins will have an outsized influence in this election because the margins are so tight,” he added.
Trump’s criticism of the report that he sent a COVID test to Putin, failed to list three virtues about him
Mario Sigbaum, 70 years old is independent and undecided votersThe question of how Harris can become the Democratic nominee and said the last switch results from Late exit from President Biden of the race “tends me to vote for Trump.”
After Harris praised Mr. Biden for supporting him, he highlighted his Republican support and said Trump admired “dictatorship and autocracy.” He criticized Trump for a report he sent to Russian President Vladimir Putin on a COVID-19 testing machine during that time The covid-19 pandemic.
“I’m sure people here have family members or friends who died (from COVID), and they secretly sent a COVID test to Vladimir Putin of Russia. When people die – hundreds of people die every day,” Harris said, adding that he and Mr. Biden is trying to address the disproportionate rate of Latino and Black Americans dying from COVID infections.
“So, I give you, sir, to say, this is an extraordinary time,” he said.
Asked by voters at the end if he could name three of Trump’s virtues, Harris listed his love for his family, but declined to add any.
“Family is one of the most important things that we can prioritize. But I don’t know him to be honest with you. I only met him once on the stage of the debate. So, I don’t have much else to give you,” he said .
in response to Hurricane Milton
The town hall began with Ramiro Gonzalez, a voter from Tampa, Florida, who recorded more than one hurricane hitting his home.
“The rumor is that your administration is not doing enough to respond the last hurricane. What are you, or your administration, going to do specifically to help us in the Tampa Bay area or the Central Florida area with this hurricane?” asked Harris.
Harris responded by spreading disinformation about the federal response to the recent hurricane. “I must emphasize that this is not the time for people to play politics,” he said. He then recorded continuous briefings and contacts with state and local officials in the field, and warned companies to increase prices in affected areas.
The economy and health care: “Prices are still too high … and we have to deal with them.”
Asked by Wendy Solares — a mother who accommodates her children, as well as their parents — what Harris would do to help the middle class, Harris took a more sympathetic tone about the rising cost of living.
“I know the prices are very high, still. You know the prices are very high, still. And we have to deal with it,” she said, before listing out her economic plan to lower costs through being more aggressive in price gouging by wholesale companies. and by issuing tax credits for parents and down payment assistance for first time home buyers.
Martha Rodriguez, a 62-year-old homeless woman whose medical conditions — a heart attack and “long-term COVID” — have caused her to lose her job and income, asked Harris how he could help disabled residents get insurance faster through Social Security.
Harris noted that he is pushing to define prolonged COVID as a condition that should be covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, and that as president, he will work to ensure medical debt does not affect credit scores.
“The bottom line is very simple, frankly, which is that everyone, regardless of disability, should have equal access to housing, employment opportunities, education, and again, community, and there’s still a lot of work to be done on this,” Harris replied. .
