Scalise: ‘I don’t necessarily agree’ with Salazar’s Hispanic voter claim

Rep. María Elvira Salazar, a Florida Republican locked in a tight race for re-election, doubled down on her criticism of the administration in a Sunday interview, warning President Donald Trump that some of his immigration advisers are “compromising his legacy” by failing to present “the whole picture.” In the CBS News Face the Nation interview, Salazar also pleaded with Trump not to “squander” his relationship with Hispanic voters, the Guardian reported.

In the interview, Salazar said she was speaking to the president from her vantage point as a representative of south Florida. “I’m forewarning him and advising him as a member of Congress from the south Florida area that some of his advisers are just not presenting the whole picture,” she said.

Though Salazar framed her criticism as directed at “advisers,” it was clear that her focus was on Trump’s “much-vaunted” ambition to carry out the largest mass deportation of undocumented immigrants in US history, the Guardian reported. When asked by Face the Nation whether she was referring to Tom Homan, Trump’s “border czar,” or Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff who has spearheaded the removal of undocumented children, Salazar placed the onus on Trump.

“He is the only elected official in the White House,” Salazar said. “He is the one who has to determine who he listens and who he does not listen to. He is the president.”

Last week, Salazar released a 30-second advertisement that sharpened her critique. Citing July enforcement data, the ad said: “In July, 50% of the 50,000 people that were detained had no criminal record. Be careful what your advisers are telling you about immigration policy … The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today.”

Salazar’s warning has been backed up by a slew of recent opinion polls showing many Hispanic voters who helped re-elect Trump in 2024 are now turning away from him, the Guardian reported. They are being repulsed by the rising cost of living and concern about his handling of the economy, as well as by the hardline immigration drive that has led to many hardworking, taxpaying undocumented immigrants being rounded up, detained and deported.

In her CBS interview, Salazar described herself as “a proud Republican” and said: “I’m first-generation American, and I want to preserve the American values that are entrenched in the [Republican party] and that the Hispanics share.” She said 70% of Americans wanted to see some type of immigration reform and pushed back on the deportation of all undocumented immigrants regardless of criminal status, telling CBS: “The average America understands the difference between the narco and the nanny, and the gangster and the gardener.”

The congresswoman faces a significantly tighter re-election battle in her Miami-area district this year against Democratic challenger Eliott Rodriguez. She won her 2024 race by 20 points; Trump carried the same district by 15 points that year.

On Saturday, Trump responded to Salazar’s earlier criticism. “She obviously doesn’t have a very strong feeling about the border. I do,” he said. He added: “Without me, she wouldn’t have gotten elected.”

The intervention has surfaced divisions Salazar’s criticism has opened within the Republican conference. Steve Scalise, the second-most powerful Republican in the US House, acknowledged on ABC News’s This Week that immigration was creating divisions within his party. Asked about Salazar’s claim that Hispanic voters feel betrayed, Scalise said: “I don’t necessarily agree with that statement.”

He added: “When you look at what María said, obviously we have a lot of disagreements in Congress … Even among Republicans we have disagreements on how to actually get to the secure border that we have.”

By breaking her silence on immigration, Salazar has put a spotlight on rising fears within Republican circles that the displeasure of Hispanic voters toward the administration’s policies could cost the party dear in November’s midterm elections, the Guardian reported. Several House seats in Colorado, Florida, Texas, Nevada and other states could be tipped in the Democrats’ favor as a result.