In Calif., hopefuls migrate left
Clinton, Sanders vow fewer deportations than under Obama
Federal agents came for Erika Andiola’s mother in 2013.
A well-known immigrant rights activist in Arizona, Andiola was able to stop her mother’s deportation after mounting a public campaign. But nearly having her mother kicked out of the country by the administration of a Democratic president eroded any allegiance the young activist felt to the Democratic Party.
Today, Andiola is part of a group of Latino advisers to Bernie Sanders who are vocally critical of President Barack Obama and his party’s record on immigration. She and other Sanders supporters frequently mention the record number of deportations carried out under Obama’s watch and at times have called on Latinos not to vote for certain Democrats they think have blocked efforts to limit deportations.
Their prominence in Sanders’ campaign underscores how much the race between the Vermont senator and Hillary Clinton has become entangled in another fight — a long-running battle between Obama and his party’s left wing over immigration enforcement.
Clinton has tied herself closely to the president, who enjoys solid approval ratings among Democrats. That has paid important electoral dividends, particularly in solidifying her support among black voters.
But just as she has gathered many of Obama’s friends, the former secretary of state has also inherited his opponents.
Sanders and Clinton, who both planned campaign events this weekend highlighting their positions on immigration, have offered similar proposals.
Both have pledged to go further than Obama in curtailing deportations of immigrants in the country illegally.
Both have turned to immigrant activists, some of whom came to the country illegally, to help design their platforms on the issue.
But their supporters have engaged in fierce battles that often seem to have less to do with the candidates themselves than with the existing administration.
The impact can be seen among Latino voters, many of whom view immigration as a top issue. A new University of California Dornsife/Tribune Newspapers poll of California voters found a generational divide in the Latino vote, with Sanders beating Clinton 58 percent to 31 percent among Latino voters younger than 50 in advance of the state’s primary on Tuesday.
Among older Latinos, Clinton led 69 percent to 16 percent.
While Obama has given work permits and deportation deferrals to some immigrants with long-standing ties to the U.S., he has also overseen the deportation of more than 2.5 million people in the country illegally.
Some Latino activists see that as a betrayal.
“If we’re talking about parties being hard on Latinos, let’s talk about the Democrats, not just the Republicans,” Andiola, a Sanders spokeswoman, said at a heated forum on immigration at UCLA last week.
Andiola, brought to the U.S. from Mexico illegally at age 11, and who won a temporary work permit under Obama’s deportation deferral program, blamed Democrats for looking the other way while Obama presided over a record number of deportations.
“We have Democrats that keep covering him up,” Andiola said, adding that she views Clinton as part of that Democratic establishment.
Dolores Huerta, a veteran labor and immigrant rights leader and a Clinton supporter, fought back. She defended the Democratic Party as being “at the forefront of supporting the rights of Latino citizens and immigrants.”
Rep. Xavier Becerra, DCalif., the highest-ranking Latino in the House Democratic leadership and also a Clinton backer, said that intense criticism by some Sanders backers overlooked the fact that Democrats are much more likely than Republicans to pass legislation that allows immigrants in the country illegally to stay.
The rise of Donald Trump as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee appears to have helped that effort. Polls show that Latino voters overwhelming identify as Democrats and oppose Trump’s comments disparaging Mexicans and calling for mass deportations.
Sanders and Clinton have both staked out stances on immigration in the primary that are well to the left of anything the Obama administration has advocated.
“They’re actually competing to see who has the most progressive immigration policy and more refined policy platform. And that is a beautiful thing,” said Angelica Salas, who leads the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights Los Angeles.
Their similarities on the issue have led many to call for party unity, especially given the fierce general election that looms ahead.
Raul Hinojosa-Ojeda, director of the North American Integration and Development Center and an associate professor at UCLA, asked panelists at last week’s conference to focus on what the candidates have in common on immigration.
“Even though it seems to be a hard-fought battle,” he said, “Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders aren’t that far apart.”