A Republican lawmaker broke sharply with President Donald Trump on Thursday as she seeks re-election.
Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) released a campaign ad warning the 80-year-old president that his mass deportation campaign was too extreme and had caught up too many immigrants without criminal records.
“Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far,” Salazar said in the ad.
An onscreen graphic notes that 50 percent of Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees in July had no criminal convictions or pending charges, but she excused Trump himself.
“Be careful what your advisers are telling you about immigration policy,” Salazar said. “The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today.”
The 64-year-old Salazar, who has served in Congress since 2021, is seeking re-election against Democrat and fellow former TV broadcaster Eliott Rodriguez in a 74-percent Hispanic district in the Miami area that broke 15 points for Trump in 2024 after splitting with Joe Biden in 2020.
“You can be for immigration what Lincoln was for slavery or what Reagan was for communism,” Salazar said. “I’m not talking about giving them amnesty. I’m talking about giving them a dignified life in this promised land.”
Salazar’s ad stood out as notable to many social media users.
“This is a stunning ad from Maria Elvira Salazar, a south Florida House Republican, wrote Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman.
“The process of Republican candidates running from Trump is accelerating,” observed journalist Scott Horton.
“Her polling must be terrrrrrrible if she’s posting an ad where she rebukes Trump by name,” marveled journalist Gary Legum.
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