Maria Salazar releases new ad pushing back on Trump policies

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MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — A South Florida Republican congresswoman blasted President Trump’s immigration policies in a surprising video posted on Thursday morning.

Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar released the new ad as she seeks re-election in Congressional District 27.

“Mr. President, some of your immigration and enforcement efforts have gone too far,” she says in the video.

Salazar is pushing for a fourth term in Congress and issued the rare rebuke of the White House’s aggressive immigration polices during Trump’s second term.

Salazar is facing a challenge from former local television anchor Elliot Rodriguez in this November’s election.

In recent months, multiple forecasters have moved the seat from solid Republican to likely Republican.

Following the ad’s release, Rodriguez put out a video of his own, which said, in part:

“The people of District 27 know that Maria Elvira Salazar has been a pathetic rubber stamp for Donald Trump while they both have made life unaffordable, slashed health care benefits, and shoved several of her constituents into Alligator Alcatraz, while she makes millions on suspect Congressional stock trading, and now she’s pretending she wants to fight him. It’s not going to work for Maria, and this is yet another reason why the voters of the district will end her political career on November 3rd.”

The sharp rebuke from Salazar comes as republicans are growing increasingly concerned the administration’s immigration policies will degrade gains the GOP made with Hispanic voters in the 2024 election.

During her time in congress, Salazar has been a strong supporter of many Trump policies, but has broken ranks on numerous occasions over the immigration crackdown.

Since being elected in 2020, her signature issue has been a bi-partisan immigration reform bill called the Dignity Act, which would create a seven-year work program for long-term undocumented immigrants, providing work authorization and deportation protections.

According to Data USA, nearly three in four residents in District 27 are Hispanic.

In February, Trump endorsed Salazar but the White House has not yet commented on the new advertisement.

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Jenise Fernandez

Jenise Fernandez

Jenise Fernandez is a six-time Emmy award winning anchor and reporter at Local 10 News. Currently, she anchors the 3 p.m. and 10 p.m. news, Monday through Friday.