Miami
María Elvira Salazar breaks with Trump on deportations in campaign ad and draws backlash from rival
The South Florida Republican released a bilingual ad addressing the President and warning about the political cost of immigration enforcement among Hispanic voters. Democrat Eliott Rodriguez said her message clashes with votes she cast to fund the same policies.
U.S. Rep. María Elvira Salazar has launched her first general election ad with a direct appeal to Donald Trump, distancing herself from parts of his immigration agenda. Florida Politics reported that the Miami Republican filmed the bilingual spot outside the White House and argues that some elements of the deportation push have gone too far, while Hispanic voters who backed the President now feel let down.
In the ad, Salazar says that in July, more than half of the 50,000 immigrants detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement had no criminal record. She also warns Trump to be careful about the guidance he is receiving on immigration and calls for a policy that gives undocumented immigrants a dignified life without framing it as amnesty.
Florida Politics said the message is aimed at a district where immigration is especially personal. In Florida’s 27th Congressional District, about 73.5% of residents are Hispanic and more than half were born outside the United States, according to Data USA.
Salazar has made immigration a central issue in her political profile. The outlet noted that she is the lead sponsor of the Dignity Act, reintroduced in July 2025 with Texas Democrat Veronica Escobar. The bill would raise Border Patrol pay, require nationwide electronic employment verification and protect eligible undocumented immigrants from removal in renewable seven-year periods if they work or study and pay restitution.
Her Democratic challenger, Eliott Rodriguez, called the ad dishonest. Florida Politics reported that Rodriguez pointed to Salazar’s vote last year for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which directed about $75 billion to ICE. He said she is responsible for deportations, ICE harassment and racial profiling, and argued that she is trying to separate herself from those policies just 47 days before the midterm election.
Florida Politics also noted that Salazar said last year that she visited the Alligator Alcatraz detention center in the Everglades and found it met high standards. But the outlet said a recent report from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General contradicted that assessment, describing cruel and substandard conditions for detainees.
Miami New Times reported that the ad triggered a wave of criticism on social media and cited immigration policy expert Thomas Kennedy, who said Salazar’s change in tone only arrived once campaign season began. According to that outlet, Kennedy argued that Salazar had supported Trump for years and had previously brushed aside human rights concerns at Alligator Alcatraz.
On the campaign front, Florida Politics reported that an internal Rodriguez campaign poll found the race tied at 45% each among likely voters, and also showed Trump underwater by 10 points in the district, with 54% disapproval. The same report said Salazar still holds a major cash advantage, with $2 million on hand through July compared with the $661,000 Rodriguez had raised since entering the race in March. It also said she declined three televised debate invitations that Rodriguez accepted.
The district includes Coral Gables, Cutler Bay, Key Biscayne, Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, South Miami, West Miami and part of Miami south of the Dolphin Expressway. Florida Politics said several forecasters have shifted the seat from solid Republican to likely Republican, while the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee lists it among Florida’s competitive seats.
Sources
About this piece. Written by El Notero with AI assistance, from reporting published by the outlet cited above. El Notero did no original reporting on this story.
