2020 presidential election

Latinos hopeful Biden administration will deliver comprehensive immigration reform

ByLuz Pena KGO logo

Sunday, November 8, 2020

Latinos hopeful Biden will tackle immigration reform

Latinos in San Francisco hope Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will deliver on promises for comprehensive immigration reform and a plan to grant some immigrants a path to citizenship.

There are over 20 million Latinos eligible to vote in the United States, according to The Pew Research Center. It's a demographic that both President Trump and President-elect Joe Biden went after in the 2020 presidential election.

Now that Biden is the projected winner, many in the community are celebrating but also expectant.

"I'm here to celebrate the better and brighter future," said El Cerrito Resident Oliver Chavez.

"I feel like my vote counted and it's history in the making, and I was very proud to be part of it," said San Francisco resident Ryan Alvarado.

There was also a sigh of relief and expectancy among many Latinos in the Bay Area.

"There is going to be change. There is going to be a transition and there has been a vindication for the pain that we have felt for the last four years," said Jon Jacobo with the Latino Task Force.

"He was the better option and I'm hoping Kamala Harris also keeps Biden more accountable and to see what we want to see. I just think that Trump was a crazy thing that happened to us," said San Francisco resident Kelly Ortega.

But this election also proved that there is no such thing as the "Latino Vote." Not all Latinos vote the same and more Latinos voted for President Trump in 2020 compared to 2016.

"When you think about the immigration patterns and why some people come from some certain countries and other countries, it's not just tied to their ethnicity but often class and what status they had in their country," said Jacobo.

Jacobo believes that what gave President-elect Joe Biden the edge with Latinos this time around was his promise during the last presidential debate for a pathway to citizenship.

"This is something that we were promised under then President-elect Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi, that we were going to get a path to citizenship. That we were going to fix this issue of immigration and get comprehensive immigration reform," said Jacobo.

For some Latinos, a Biden-Harris administration could be the telling factor to vote Democrat in upcoming elections, or Republican if those immigration promises are not delivered.

"We were let down before. We can't be let down again. This needs to happen and needs to happen yesterday," said Jacobo.

Get the latest stories and videos about the 2020 election here.

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