USA · updated 1h ago · 2 min read
María Elvira Salazar Tells Donald Trump His Immigration Enforcement Has Gone Too Far
Salazar directly tells Trump immigration enforcement has gone too far in a new campaign ad. Ad argues Hispanic voters feel betrayed by Trump's immigration crackdown.
Whether the backlash is mainly organised party discipline or unity fracture.
7 of 9 outlets skipped it: DHS IG report details Florida detention conditions at “Alligator Alcatraz”.
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AlterNet
“This is a major blow to the already fragile image of unity Republicans have been struggling to maintain”Read the original ↗
FOX News spotlights the Freedom Caucus rebuke after Salazar’s ad, while AlterNet frames it as Republican unity breaking under electoral pressure.
Salazar breaks with Trump
Republican Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar of Florida told President Donald Trump in a campaign video that his immigration enforcement efforts have “gone too far.”
““have gone too far.””
In the ad, Salazar said, “In July, 50% of the 50,000 people that were detained had no criminal record,” and warned, “Be careful what your advisers are telling you about immigration policy.”
BBC News Mundo reported that the video was set within the midterm elections campaign for November 3, when Salazar seeks reelection as the representative for Florida in the House of Representatives.
CBS News said Salazar’s message serves as “a stark example of a GOP candidate distancing herself from the president just weeks before the midterm elections.”
ICE arrests and the backlash
BBC News Mundo said the message arrived amid a wave of arrests and deportations by U.S. immigration authorities in Florida and other states, with “More than 100,000 migrants” arrested between July and August by ICE and CBP.
The BBC also reported that ICE detained 50,925 people in August, above the July record of 50,208, and that deportations reached a monthly high that same month, “nearly 34,000.”
In response to Salazar’s criticism, a DHS spokesman said, “Under President Trump’s leadership and Secretary Mullin, there will be no amnesty for illegal immigrants. Neither now nor ever,” and added that ICE is enforcing laws passed by Congress.
DHS also rejected amnesty and said, “The only thing the United States should give illegal immigrants is a one-way ticket home, or a generous $3,000 check to self-deport immediately,” as the clash played out publicly between a Miami-based Republican lawmaker and the Trump administration.
Midterms stakes and political split
The ad and the DHS response unfolded as Salazar sought reelection in Florida’s 27th Congressional District, which CNN said includes wide swaths of Miami-Dade county and where about three-quarters of the population identify as Hispanic.
“just months ahead of the midterms”
CNN reported that the district voted for Trump by nearly 15 points in 2024, and said Salazar’s break with the president came “just months ahead of the midterms.”
El Espectador described Salazar’s video as a hard swing against Trump’s mass deportation policy and said she urged Trump to be “careful” about the immigration advice he was receiving.
Meanwhile, El Espectador said the midterms could hinge on Latino support, citing a Latino Battleground 2026 poll by Hart Research/TelevisaUnivision that placed Latino support for the House at 58% for Democrats and 35% for Republicans in 17 disputed districts.