In a South Florida House race, Republican Representative María Elvira Salazar released a television ad directly telling President Donald Trump that his aggressive immigration enforcement has gone too far and betrayed Hispanic voters. The ad highlights growing Republican anxiety ahead of the midterms as Trump's approval ratings hit record lows. Polling shows Latino voters swinging back toward Democrats, fueled by anger over record Cuban deportations and ICE tactics, while the Supreme Court prepares to review Trump's mandatory detention policy.
Salazar's ad and Trump's reaction
- ▪President Donald Trump criticized Representative María Elvira Salazar in a dozen social media posts after her campaign ad aired, including reposting a message that called her a backstabber.
- ▪In her September 2026 campaign ad, Representative María Elvira Salazar stated that some Hispanic voters who supported President Donald Trump in 2024 now feel betrayed by his immigration policies.
- ▪Representative María Elvira Salazar released a television ad in September 2026 standing in front of the White House and telling President Donald Trump that his immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far.
Polling on Latino voter sentiment
- ▪An NBC News/Telemundo poll released on October 4, 2026, found Latino registered voters prefer Democratic over Republican control of Congress 59% to 35% (24-point margin) and two-thirds believe Trump's administration has gone too far on immigration.
- ▪A spring 2026 UnidosUS survey found that 20 percent of Hispanic voters in Florida who supported Donald Trump in 2024 said they would not vote for him again.
Policies on Cuban immigrants
- ▪The Trump administration has ruled that many Cubans who arrived in the United States during the Biden administration do not qualify for permanent residency under the Cuban Adjustment Act.
- ▪The Trump administration has deported thousands of Cubans, including sending nearly 6,000 Cubans to Mexico and others to African countries such as the Central African Republic.
Republican senators criticize immigration enforcement
- ▪Senator Roger Marshall criticized U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement late last month for conducting operations in Kansas without giving advance notice or coordinating sufficiently with local police.
- ▪Senator Jim Justice stated on September 29, 2026, that immigration officers were dragging away long-term residents and that the administration needed to step back, though he walked back his comments the next day.
Immigration detention policies and statistics
- ▪U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement held approximately 66,000 immigrants in detention as of July 2026, with nearly 71% of those detainees having no criminal convictions.
- ▪The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to review the legality of the Trump administration's mandatory immigration detention policy, which denies bond hearings to detained immigrants in the interior of the United States.
Associated Press-NORC poll results
- ▪An Associated Press-NORC poll released on October 1, 2026, found that President Donald Trump's overall approval rating fell to 31 percent, with a 39 percent approval rating on immigration.
- ▪The Associated Press-NORC poll released on October 1, 2026, found that only 26 percent of respondents approved of President Donald Trump's handling of the economy.
Debatable claims
- ▪Deporting undocumented immigrants to third countries is an acceptable enforcement practice
- ▪The Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement crackdown has gone too far
- ▪Cubans who arrived during the Biden administration should qualify for permanent residency
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