One Miami district is testing how far Trump has fallen with Latino voters

Miami Congressional District Race Centers on Immigration Policy Differences

Rep. María Elvira Salazar, a Republican representing Florida’s 27th congressional district, released a campaign advertisement last week that criticized aspects of federal immigration enforcement. The district covers parts of Miami-Dade County where more than 70 percent of residents identify as Hispanic. Salazar, a Cuban American and former television journalist, first won the seat in 2020 with support from then-candidate Donald Trump and has held it since.

In the 30-second advertisement, Salazar stated that some immigration enforcement actions had exceeded intended limits. She cited data indicating that half of individuals arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in July had no criminal convictions. Salazar said the Hispanic voters who supported Trump in 2024 felt their concerns were not being addressed and called for policies that would allow certain long-term residents to remain without granting amnesty. The advertisement did not name specific legislation beyond referencing enforcement practices.

Democratic candidate Eliott Rodriguez, a retired CBS News Miami anchor, responded on social media that Salazar bore responsibility for funding increases to ICE contained in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and for prior statements defending conditions at the Alligator Alcatraz detention facility in the Everglades, which has since closed. Rodriguez described the facility’s operations as directly connected to congressional support for expanded enforcement.

The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement noting that ICE officers were carrying out statutes enacted by Congress. Trump, in remarks to a reporter, said he disagreed with Salazar’s characterization but referred to her as a “nice person” and recalled that his endorsement had aided her earlier campaigns.

Salazar won the 2024 general election by approximately 20 percentage points. A poll conducted for the Rodriguez campaign and released last week showed the two candidates tied at 45 percent each among likely voters. Earlier surveys had shifted the race rating from solid Republican to likely Republican. Orlando J. Pérez, a political science professor at the University of North Texas at Dallas, stated that any Salazar victory would likely occur by a narrower margin than in 2024.

The 27th district contains one of the higher concentrations of Latino voters among U.S. House districts. Pérez described the contest as reflecting local dynamics within the Cuban American community, a group that has provided consistent Republican support in recent cycles. He noted Salazar’s prior sponsorship of the Dignity Act, a bipartisan measure that would have created a pathway to legal status for certain individuals brought to the United States as children and for others present before 2020. Salazar has also opposed termination of Temporary Protected Status for nationals of Haiti and Venezuela.

On CBS Face the Nation, Salazar said she had spoken with Trump after the advertisement aired and urged him to retain Latino voter support achieved in 2024. She referenced a reported 55-point margin among Hispanic voters for the Republican presidential candidate that year and warned against actions that could reduce future turnout.

Eduardo Gamarra, director of the Latino Public Opinion Forum at Florida International University, said Salazar faces competing pressures: maintaining alignment with the administration while addressing constituent concerns about enforcement. He observed that these objectives have produced tension in her public positions.

Rodriguez, born in New York City to Cuban immigrant parents, moved to Miami at age 12. He worked nearly five decades in broadcast journalism, including many years as an anchor at CBS News Miami, before retiring in 2025. Rodriguez has emphasized household costs, noting that one of his adult children relocated to North Carolina after finding housing and living expenses in Miami unaffordable despite professional incomes. He has described his campaign as focused on affordability and immigration enforcement accountability.

Gamarra’s research group plans to release results of a statewide Florida survey of Latino voters in mid-October. He referenced a recent Colorado poll in which 66 percent of Latino respondents said the country was on the wrong track and 68 percent disapproved of Trump’s performance. Gamarra stated that Republican gains among Latino voters in some states appear subject to reversal in individual districts, though national patterns have not yet shown consistent Democratic turnout increases.

Salazar’s campaign has not granted an interview request for this article. Rodriguez has stated that his decision to run followed discussions with family members affected by local housing costs and his observation of federal policy implementation in South Florida. Pérez and Gamarra both noted that Cuban American voters in the district have historically shown strong Republican identification, while also recording measurable shifts in opinion on specific enforcement measures during 2025.

The district’s median household income and housing costs rank among the higher figures in Florida metropolitan areas. Rodriguez has pointed to these conditions as central to his platform. Salazar has maintained that her record includes support for targeted enforcement alongside legal immigration reforms.

No additional statewide or national Latino voter surveys beyond the cited district and Colorado polls were referenced in campaign materials reviewed for this report. The November contest will determine whether Salazar retains the seat she has held since 2021.