The hegemony of the Republican Party of Florida’s 27th congressional district is emblematic of the party's attacks among Latino voters in recent years.  The achievements on this ground helped Governor Ron DeSantis decisively win re-election last year and helped the Republican Party (GOP) regain control of the U.S. House.

In the Miami area, which includes Little Havana, half of residents were born abroad, and when Latin Republican Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar ran for re-election last year, she won by 15 percentage points.

That strong showing, it is clear the party’s claims to launch an aggressive agenda around immigration policy, however, there is dissent. Maria Elvira Salazar is among the few Republicans who oppose a comprehensive proposal that is being considered in the House that would restrict asylum on the U.S.-Mexico border. On the same road is Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas, a Mexican-American Republican whose district covers a long portion of the U.S.-Mexico border from El Paso to San Antonio, who called the proposed legislation “anti-immigrant”.

“Republicans have long earned support from roughly a third of Latino voters, many of whom share the party’s conservative attitudes on immigration and other issues. In November’s elections, 39% of Latinos voted for Republicans, according to AP VoteCast. That was an uptick from 32% supporting Republicans in 2018’s midterm elections. Overall, about a third of Latino voters were in favor of increasing law enforcement at the U.S.-Mexico border, while two-thirds were opposed. About half said they disapproved of the way President Joe Biden was handling border security. Majorities of Latino voters who supported Republicans disapproved of Biden on border security and were in favor of increased enforcement at the border”, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

In January, Republican Chip Roy (R-Austin) proposed legislation dubbed the Security and Border Protection Act to give the secretary of state the ability to close the border and detain asylum seekers while their cases are prosecuted in court.  At the moment, asylum seekers can be released with warnings to appear in court and fight for asylum. The bill would also allow U.S. immigration authorities to ban all migrants from entering if there was no “operational control” on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Roy sent a letter to his GOP colleagues asking them to back the bill up. In an interview, he said he found it “absurd” for Gonzales and Salazar to question the bill, according to AP.

“Salazar, who was backed by Trump and DeSantis, has been vocal about both the need to secure the border and the need to push for an immigration overhaul that gives some status to those who are already in the country illegally. She said she and colleagues are simply working together to make sure the proposal does not violate any laws governing asylum”.

“The formula hasn’t changed,” Salazar said. “We want the Albert Einsteins* of the world to come and work for us and continue to make this economy strong”.

Some Democrats pointed to Salazar's comments to support her opposition to Chip Roy’s legislation.

*Einstein arrived in the U.S. in 1933 as a refugee from Nazi Germany.