Two Democratic groups — Somos PAC and Priorities USA Action — are running this 30-second ad on digital platforms in battleground states in support of Vice President Kamala Harris. The ad is targeted at Hispanic voters, and the two groups are spending $1 million on it as part of a $5 million campaign. It has both English- and Spanish-language versions.
Here’s a look at the ad, its accuracy and its main takeaway.
On the Screen
The ad opens with images of smiling, hard-working people engaged in jobs often filled by immigrants from Latin America: operating a food truck, picking crops on a farm, working construction, serving coffee in a diner. The background music is light and airy.
The spot then transitions to a grainy clip of former President Donald J. Trump at a rally as disturbing images pop on and off the screen. Young children are seen sleeping in cages, evoking Mr. Trump’s family separation policy. Cheering Trump rally-goers in cowboy hats hold up signs that read “Mass Deportation Now!”
Then the screen brightens as Ms. Harris appears smiling in a crowd of children and adults. Her presence is followed by scenes of happy families, a young person graduating from college and more Americans hard at work.
The Script
Narrator
“Working people, including hard-working immigrants, are bringing our economy back. But while Trump threatens to separate families and weaken our economy, Kamala Harris’s balanced approach to immigration is keeping families together: by protecting our loved ones from deportation, providing a pathway to citizenship and work visas for Dreamers. With the Biden-Harris administration’s historic action, working people like us can continue to build a good life and strengthen our economy for generations to come.”
Accuracy
The ad makes several broad claims about the immigration policies of Mr. Trump and Ms. Harris that are largely accurate. Under the Trump administration, thousands of children were separated from their parents at the border, and the former president has not ruled out reinstating that policy if he wins in November. Nonpartisan economic studies have found that Mr. Trump’s promise to deport millions of people would contribute to slowing economic growth.
The ad also accurately describes executive actions signed by President Biden, including providing a pathway to citizenship for the undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens and allowing the undocumented young immigrants known as Dreamers to obtain employer-sponsored work visas.
The Takeaway
Ms. Harris’s stance on border security is hard-line for a Democrat, and the ad is clearly trying to emphasize the more immigration-friendly part of her platform. It makes no mention of her support for a Biden administration policy that has blocked a vast majority of asylum claims at the U.S.-Mexico border and allowed agents to turn people back quickly. Instead, the ad focuses on the efforts that she and Mr. Biden have made to protect undocumented immigrants in the United States.
The goal seems to be shoring up her support with Hispanic voters — among whom she is struggling compared with previous Democratic candidates — by contrasting her approach to immigration with Mr. Trump’s and reminding them of the threat he could pose to undocumented immigrants if he is elected.
Somos PAC and Priorities USA Action say they are using YouTube to reach Hispanic voters in the battleground states who are less likely to participate in elections. Digital platforms allow advertisers to target their ads to specific groups of people and areas.
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