(ConservativeHub.com) – President Joe Biden is seeking to strengthen support among Latino voters, a demographic deemed important for his reelection. He was set to address the UnidosUS annual conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, this past week, but he pulled out of the event after testing positive for illness.
At the event, Biden was expected to highlight how starting August 19, certain U.S. citizens’ undocumented spouses can apply for permanent residency and citizenship without needing to exit the United States. This program could benefit more than half a million immigrants and was initially announced in June.
The program, called the “parole in place” (PIP) program, allowed the Department of Homeland Security to examine some parole requests on a case-by-case basis. If an immigrant has a spouse who is a U.S. citizen and been in the country for ten years, they might be eligible to remain here while seeking permanent residency.
In his speech, Biden was also set to tout his administration’s efforts to increase health insurance coverage and lower Latino unemployment rates.
According to Newsmax, this was part of Biden’s general attempt to stabilize his presidential campaign following his debate performance at the end of June. The debate resulted in many Democrats calling for him to drop out of the presidential race.
Support from Black and Latino voters is reportedly valuable to Biden, as both of the groups helped secure his 2020 presidential victory. Biden has expressed confidence about energizing these voters along with Black, White, and Asian groups. He said voters are “never focused” on the election until after Labor Day.
Some polls have shown that Hispanic Americans don’t view Biden as favorably as they used to. A June AP-NORC poll found that only 45 percent of Hispanic adults had a favorable view of Biden. In January 2021, that number was at around 60 percent.
The Unidos US conference would have provided Biden a chance to showcase the differences between his immigration policies and former President Donald Trump’s. Trump has reportedly been known for presenting migrants as criminals and calling for mass deportations if he is reelected.
It is unclear whether Biden’s speech will be rescheduled.
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