Salazar says Trump immigration enforcement went too far

Salazar’s warning

Republican Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida used a campaign ad to tell President Donald Trump that some immigration enforcement efforts had “gone too far.” She said Hispanic voters who supported Trump in 2024 now “feel betrayed” and urged him to be careful about the advice shaping immigration policy.

Salazar said that in July, half of 50,000 people detained had no criminal record. That figure was her assertion in the ad. CBS News reported that July was the first month of Trump’s second term in which people arrested solely for civil immigration violations — rather than people with pending criminal charges or convictions — accounted for more than half of immigration arrests.

Salazar said she was not calling for amnesty. She framed her appeal as a request for immigrants to be able to live with dignity in the United States.

District and House contest

Salazar represents a Miami-area district that is Republican-leaning. Nearly three-quarters of its residents are Hispanic, based on Census Bureau data cited by CBS News.

Salazar, a Cuban American and former television journalist, has served in Congress since 2021 and is seeking reelection. Democratic nominee Eliott Rodriguez, a former CBS News Miami anchor, won his primary in August and is challenging her. The ad brings immigration enforcement into their House campaign weeks before the midterm elections.