Such a thing as the Hispanic vote does not exist. Hispanics, for a whole series of reasons, do not vote as a bloc. Because their priorities are not necessarily the same, Puerto Ricans, for example, vote in a manner almost diametrically opposed to those of Mexican origin, when the issue in question is, as it has been in previous electoral cycles, one of a migratory nature. However, as polls have repeatedly indicated, in the upcoming elections this will not be one of the fundamental issues.
The immigration issue, which is one thing and may be similar, although it is not exactly the border issue. Let's see: one thing is the immigration reform, urgent for years, that President Obama promised and that like many of the promises Democrats have made to Hispanics, has yet to be fulfilled. Another thing is the border crisis, of utmost urgency, and which is the direct result of Biden's campaign promises, in the sense that all those who reach our borders would be allowed indiscriminate entry into the United States, accompanied by the content of more than 90 executive orders that the newly arrived president gave, in order to reverse the policies that took effect during the last administration, such as the construction of the border wall, and the successful “remain in Mexico policy.”
This, reinforced by a series of policies aimed at reducing the ability of border authorities to fulfill their duty and the obstacles that the federal government has wanted to impose on state governments so that they cannot contain the flow of undocumented immigrants, has caused the humanitarian disaster that we have witnessed and already imposed very serious financial consequences for municipal, county and state governments, not only in the border regions but in the entire country as well. Additionally, there's, obviously been the disproportionate flow of illegal drugs and the evident increase in crime rates.
In general, Hispanics favor immigration policies that allow the orderly and legal entry and formalization of immigrants to the United States. Consequently, they do not agree with the fact that more than eight million have crossed the border illegally, illegal immigrants who are being showered with benefits that those who entered within the legal framework never received, and will significantly delay the bureaucratic processes of those who did comply with the laws, duly filled out their paperwork and paid the corresponding fees to have access to live legally in the United States.
In any case, and given the painful economic situation we are going through, it is not surprising that surveys show that the most important issues for Hispanics, facing the 2024 elections, will be inflation and the way that the Biden and the Democrats' economic agenda is affecting their pockets. It is not that the immigration and border security issues don’t matter, they appear in sixth place in the survey, but that others have acquired greater relevance in current times, among them the crime rates and the affordability of housing, issues on which Biden has failed miserably. Just a year ago, 60% of Hispanics approved of Biden's performance as president. These days, as a result of his failures, his approval rating among Hispanics is at 47%, and his disapproval rating is at 44%. And this is in a poll by the firm BSP Research, openly linked to the Democratic party and whose co-founder, Matt Barreto, has conducted polls separately for Democratic presidential candidates.
A recent survey by the LIBRE Initiative, a national organization dedicated to empowering the Hispanic community, concluded that Latinos feel something is deeply wrong in the economy. Nearly four in five Hispanics have a negative view of the economy, and 71% say the country is going in the wrong direction. Digging a little deeper, 84% say inflation has hurt their quality of life. The same survey shows that pessimistic attitudes toward the economy in the United States are more prevalent among younger voters. When asked if they agree that the country is declining and that their children will have more limited opportunities, it was expected that 70% of retirement-age Hispanics would agree, but it is surprising that a remarkable 85% of those who are between 18 and 34 years old, match them. That means six out of seven young Latino voters think the country is declining.
Once again, the way Hispanics vote will be decisive in the next elections, and it is an irrefutable fact that a significant percentage of voters of Latino origin have been changing from Democrats to Republicans, because they got tired of being taken for granted and they made promises that they did not keep, and because they realized that they align much more with the principles and values of the Republican Party, in what has to do with family, freedom, patriotism, economic model, faith and education of our children. The proportion of Hispanic voters in crucial states will be decisive in the outcome of the 2024 electoral process and will contribute significantly to define which of the two parties will win the White House and the majorities in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.