National political reporter
@WashingtonPost
| Cubanita de Hialeah | Proudly Medill & NAHJ | Dog mom & obsessed with Abuela | Sabrina.Rodriguez
@washpost
.com
New: “God must know why we didn’t make it. But it’s our dream.”
More and more, a new force is driving people to migrate: climate. And it isn’t climate change acting alone. It’s food insecurity. Malnutrition. Poverty.
From Aldea Xucup in Panzós, Guatemala:
This is big news.
“Univision is selling many of its Spanish-language radio stations — including Miami's ultraconservative Radio Mambi — to a group led by Democrats.”
Stations are located in 10 of biggest Latino markets including: Miami, NY, LA, Chicago.
Just now: Alejandro Mayorkas has been confirmed to serve as Biden’s secretary of Homeland Security in a 56-43 vote.
Lots of firsts here:
– First Latino to lead DHS
– First immigrant to lead DHS
– First Senate-confirmed DHS secretary since April 2019
3,300+ Latinas are currently on a Zoom call hyping up VP
@KamalaHarris
’s candidacy.
Chat function has been flooded with comments including women saying: “DALE GANAS,” “
#LatinasAreAForce
,” “Comadres for Kamala!” and “Let’s remember Kamala is 1/2 CARIBBEAN!”
Talk to migrants arriving at the border — and they don’t talk about Biden. Or Trump. Or Washington.
They talk about what they’ve fled: Violence. Poverty. Devastation.
“I would have found a way to come no matter what.”
“There’s nothing else I could do.”
Personal update: This Cubanita de Hialeah is officially
@POLITICO
’s immigration correspondent!
Really picked a calm time to start covering this. All the tips are welcome.
Obama makes a quick stop in Miami Springs to offer a message to Dems here: “If you bring Florida home, this things over...
I won’t have to wait for the results. I want to go to sleep knowing we’re going to have a president fighting on our behalf.”
New from Orlando: Maxwell Frost doesn’t fit the typical mold of a candidate for Congress.
25. Afro-Cuban. Organizer. First-time candidate. Uber driver. Hasn’t finished college. Doesn’t come from $.
Why Frost could become the first Gen Zer in Congress:
A bit of news: I’m now a national political correspondent at
@POLITICO
.
I’ll be focusing on some of the topics I’m most interested in: the politics of Latinos, Latin America, immigration and lots of things 2022 + 2024. If our interests overlap, let’s talk!
View from inside the rally perimeter. Bleachers full. Field filling up. The line of attendees coming in keeps going.
(Also, literally perfect weather day for an outdoor rally. Thank you, Western Wisconsin!!!)
Showdown between Cubans outside Biden’s Little Havana stop today.
Trump supporter: “Vete pa Cuba, socialista!!! Límpiale los pies a Raul Castro que te gusta el comunismo.”
Biden supporter: “Vete tu que yo nací aquí!!! Yo no soy ningún socialista.”
WhatsApp group chats, Spanish-language radio stations + Facebook, it’s everywhere.
Florida Latinos are getting hit with a flood of wild conspiracy theories and disinformation. And it’s hurting Joe Biden in the nation’s biggest swing state. w/
@MarcACaputo
The news is out!
I’m heading to
@washingtonpost
to take on a new beat covering voters and the changing American electorate.
Grateful. Excited. Thrilled. All the happy feelings. Can’t wait to get started!
Thrilled to welcome the talented
@sabrod123
to
@washingtonpost
as a national political reporter covering voters and the dynamic American electorate!
New: The Biden campaign is launching radio ads on Black & Hispanic-owned stations in battleground states.
It’s the earliest paid investment in Black & Hispanic radio for a Dem reelection campaign ever & part of a multimillion $ effort to court these blocs.
Jared Kushner will receive the highest honor Mexico can bestow on foreigners for his work in renegotiating
#NAFTA
, Mexico’s Foreign Ministry confirms.
Kushner’s “constant and effective involvement was key to reaching a successful close of the negotiations.”
News: I’m now a White House correspondent at
@POLITICO
.
I’m thrilled to be part of this team & get started on the beat. Grateful to my current & former editors & colleagues for their support.
Email/DM me any tips & ideas. Always down to talk Abuela, Bad Bunny & Hialeah, too.
Looks like Florida is just missing one county to count right now – and zero have gone to Bernie Sanders tonight, notes reporter
@sabrod123
.
Live analysis:
Live Florida results:
Running list of Abuela’s observations of me, a reporter:
— Mija, con quien tú hablas tanto?
— Ay no. Todo contigo es política.
— Eso no es vida. Conectada todo el santo día.
— A ti no te pagan suficiente pa esto.
— Mija, tu no estás ni bien alimentada ni bien descansada ni nada.
*Exciting* personal news: I’m officially taking on the role of a full-time, full-on
@Politico
trade reporter. (No more fellowship life for me!)
Beyond grateful to my great mentors and colleagues (and, honestly, probably NAFTA) for helping make this possible.
News: A federal judge has ordered that the Biden admin stop expelling migrant families using the Title 42 public health order.
Biden will be blocked from using Title 42 on families with children in 14 days. Big win for
@ACLU
, asylum seekers, human rights + immigrant advocates.
I feel like almost every time Latinos/Hispanic/Latinx are trending on Twitter it’s a debate over what to call us. There’s a lot of more interesting discussions to have with and about us, js.
Last stop for
@EvaLongoria
and
@AnaNavarro
today: Caravan of Biden supporters starting outside Versailles — aka THE spot Republicans stop at to court Cubans.
Lots of signs that say: “100% anti-comunista, 100% anti-racista, 100% anti-fascista, 100% con Biden.”
Cubans are not Puerto Ricans. They’re not Mexicans. They’re not Colombians. They’re not even all Republican.
But tonight: They helped deliver Trump’s win in Florida. And they shook up Miami big time.
My 3 a.m. take on what we saw here:
New: Biden’s big immigration reform bill will be introduced in both the House and Senate NEXT WEEK — likely toward the end of the week.
House bill, led by Rep. Sánchez, is expected to move quickly with goal to have it passed by early March. Senate effort will take longer.
Long lines of students outside Reading Area Community College’s Miller Center for the Arts ahead of a visit from
@VP
Harris.
Harris will speak at this Hispanic-serving institution in this Hispanic-majority city in PA today as part of her “Fight for Our Freedoms" College Tour.
I drove past some new “luxury” apartments being built in East Hialeah.
*looks up website knowing it’s going to be tremendo robo*
“Why live in Hiealeah” 🚩
“…is not just a city. It’s a feeling.” 🚩
“Many call Hialeah the Brooklyn of Miami” 🚩
…..…
Abuela stays being Abuela even in the hospital...
Nurse: Do you live with anyone?
Abuela: No.
Nurse: I thought you mentioned you had a son at home.
Abuela: Yes, my son lives with me. But I don’t live with him — big difference pa que vayas sabiendo.
There it is: Sens. Durbin and Padilla say they have a plan B following the Senate parliamentarian’s ruling on pathway to legal status via reconciliation.
“Senate Democrats have prepared an alternative proposal for the Parliamentarian’s consideration in the coming days.”
NEW: Durbin got unanimous consent on Senate floor for Mayorkas schedule.
Mayorkas cloture vote will be 1:45 p.m. on Thursday and confirmation vote will be 5:30 p.m. on Monday.
He will have the votes for confirmation even w/GOP holdup.
we went from Justice Sonia Sotomayor swearing in Harris to JLo performing now.
Lots of Puerto Rican from the Bronx representation at the Inauguration right now.
Abuela loves her cable news shows and she is ~not~ amused today by the lack of reporting on the situation in Cuba.
“El noticiero? No ha dicho nada. Nada. Solo hablando del tipo que fue al espacio.”
My whole Twitter feed today is filled with disappointment tied to an expectation that Latinos + Black voters would save the day and turnout and vote Democrat.
What about all the white voters that didn’t save the day for Democrats?
Desde los pueblos más pequeños, como La Salud, Quivican, Mayabeque, hasta las grandes ciudades. Hoy es el día en que cientos de miles de cubanos le gritan a la dictadura ¡Ya no más!
#11JCuba
It’s official. The Biden administration is offering temporary protected status to Venezuelan exiles, fulfilling a campaign promise to allow them to live and work legally in the U.S.
This means protections, after they apply, for about ~200,000 Venezuelans.
Sen. Bernie Sanders is only candidate out of six to mention trade at the Teamsters 2020 forum today.
Starts out speech reminding everyone that he led the charge against the original NAFTA.
“As president, we’re going to have fair trade, not a policy of unfair free trade.”
Biden’s EO on family reunification task force is out:
— Task force will identify children separated between Jan. 2017 - Jan. 2021 in connection w/zero tolerance.
— Will recommend potential parole or visas, offering mental health services.
— Initial report due in 120 days max
@VP
@RACC_edu
Cheerleaders from Reading High School close out with a cheer for
@VP
Harris.
“She got that fever. She got that heat. She’s our VP. You cannot compete.”
Officials + NGO leaders along the border say their main message to Washington is: Less politics, more actual change.
And, they remind, these are human beings that politicians are arguing about.
My dispatch from Texas:
In 90 minutes, $90,000 were raised for the Harris campaign,
@michelleavillgs
says on this Latinas for Harris call.
More numbers from tonight:
~4,500 Latinas on the call
930+ new donors
400+ new volunteer sign-ups
Former DHS Sec. Napolitano weighs in on Sen. Cornyn’s objection to quickly confirming Mayorkas to DHS:
“What I fear is happening is disagreements with the president’s policy is being used... to hold his nomination hostage.”
Reminds Mayorkas has been confirmed 3 times by Senate.
New: 100 Democrats, led by
@HispanicCaucus
, are calling on House leadership to include a pathway to citizenship for ~5 million in a covid relief package using reconciliation.
Would apply to:
— Undocumented essential workers
— Dreamers
— TPS recipients
I’m 26 today — and it’s the first time in years I’m in Miami for my birthday.
2020 has been all kinds of trash, but I’m here for waking up to café con leche + tostada + croquetas (and my family, of course).
The crowd fell quiet when
@VP
Harris asked for a show of hands: How many had grown up participating in active shooter drills?
Most raised their hands.
It was a moment students were still talking about after she left the campus.
More on VP’s college tour:
had a covid test scheduled for 3:30 pm, arrived late at 3:40. apologize to the nurse at Walgreens and she informs me I’m 5 mins early.
I must have looked puzzled because she adds: “We expect everyone to be 15 mins late. This is Miami.”
I’m home.
New: VP Harris announces $310 million in U.S. gov aid for humanitarian relief + to address food insecurity in Guatemala, Honduras + El Salvador.
$255M in humanitarian relief (coming from USAID, State Dept and DOD)
$55M for food insecurity (from USDA)
Abuela really just asked me to make cafecito at 10 p.m. — so she can drink it with a slice of pizza and saltine crackers.
This is why I am the way I am.
I wasn’t going to tell Abuela I bought Bad Bunny tickets again, but I couldn’t help it.
Reaction:
“Otra ves? Mija, te felicito. Eso es lo que te gusta — feo como un rayo con una boca cochinisima. You love Bugs Bunny.”
This is my first week at
@washingtonpost
!
Add me to your email lists. Send tips and chisme. Let’s talk voters and midterms. I’m at: Sabrina.Rodriguez
@WashPost
.com
Young Latino voters love Bernie Sanders. Young Cubans... not so much.
”I’m more progressive than Biden, but I also don’t want to stand next to the dummy in the Che Guevara t-shirt at a rally.”
My story on how Bernie’s efforts hit a wall in South Florida:
I got the J&J vaccine. I’m also in the same age bracket as the six women w/the rare blood-clotting issue.
And while I understand fears of getting vaxxed (I’ve had to talk down practically my whole fam), I really hope anyone who has access to the vaccine gets it.
Update: The Senate is expected to vote to confirm Mayorkas to DHS secretary tomorrow at 2:15 p.m.
Biden is also still scheduled to announce immigration-related executive actions, including the family reunification task force, tomorrow.
It’s Inauguration Day — or “Biden drops his big immigration reform bill” day.
What’s in the bill:
— 8-year pathway to citizenship, must be in U.S. on Jan 1 to qualify
— DACA, TPS recipients + farmworkers = automatic green cards
— $ for Central America
Crowd reaction at Warnock’s election night party as CNN projects he will win re-election to the U.S. Senate:
First song from the DJ? “All I Do Is Win” by DJ Khaled.
@MariaTCardona
on the call highlights historic nature of this moment:
“We have the opportunity to elect the first African American, South Asian, daughter of immigrants, woman of color, woman president.
And she’s not going to be able to do that without all the women here.”
T-minus 49 days until the election: I’m stoked to share I’m joining
@POLITICO
’s politics team for the final stretch.
Next couple of months are going to be wild, so let me know all things 2020 + gubernatorial + state races I should be following. DMs open!
FYI: Here are some of the journalists who have been covering Spanish-language disinfo pre-election:
POLITICO:
NYT:
Miami Herald:
Boston Globe:
LA Times:
Not nearly enough attention has been paid to the amazing quantities of disinformation circulating among US Hispanics, in Spanish, both before the election and now
I am so appreciative and love all the pro-Latina reporter tweets I’ve seen this week. But I really hope people will consider reading us year-round — not after a major election.
Pelosi casts doubt that Trump's
#USMCA
can win approval in Congress without changes to bolster labor and environmental protections. Pelosi had a "constructive" 30-min talk with Trump's top trade negotiator Lighthizer about these concerns, she said.
My phone just reminded me that today marks an v important anniversary:
One whole year since Shakira and JLo gave us the gift of their Super Bowl Halftime performance.
Mexico’s Seade has been now meeting USTR Lighthizer for over an hour — and it’s unclear how this is more than an act of trying to save face.
Lighthizer cannot change the implementing legislation, even if he wanted to, after sending it to Congress.
VP-elect Kamala Harris in Univision interview:
— Biden administration will create “greater efficiencies” to shorten wait times for green cards.
— Plan is also for DACA recipients + TPS holders to “automatically get green cards.”
— More judges to process backlog of cases.
New: For years, Latino leaders have warned Democrats: Invest early, hire Latinos to top roles, talk about more than immigration — or you’ll lose ground w/voters.
Now, Dems acknowledge the problem. But it doesn’t mean they’re taking action quickly enough.
New: Republicans have long argued that Trump’s gains in majority-Hispanic South Texas were not a one-time deal and, instead, the beginning of a larger trend.
The primary results on Tuesday night proved they’re right.
I fully understand the domestic political implications (I literally write about them for a living) here.
But the unprecedented protests in Cuba are driven by the Cuban people. Just a reminder.
Trump campaign just put out a Spanish-language ad using Mexican singer Luis Miguel’s famous “La Incondicional” — aka the one that’s unconditional — song to describe media’s relationship with Biden.
Kamala Harris voted against
#USMCA
because she feels the deal falls short on environment.
“I have concluded that the USMCA’s environmental provisions are insufficient—and by not addressing climate change, the USMCA fails to meet the crises of this moment.”
Full statement:
Here’s Marlen Reyes and her kids — Meylin + Freddy. They’re one of the families arriving at the border + being allowed to stay.
They made it to Brownsville after a 16-day trek from Escuintla, Guatemala.
“God doesn’t forsake us.”
(📷: Callaghan O’Hare)
.
@MaxwellFrostFL
on lessons from Warnock:
“A lot of people think that in these tight races you have to act more like a Republican than a Dem to win... With Warnock’s campaign, we’ve seen someone who’s not afraid to really speak to every part of our party."
Abuela has started to answer telemarketing calls with a simple message: “Patria y vida. No speak English.” *hangs up phone* (note: she fully speaks English.)
I can’t with her.
Six GOP senators voted to confirm Mayorkas as DHS secretary. They are:
— Capito of West Virginia
— Murkowski of Alaska
— Sullivan of Alaska
— Romney of Utah
— Collins of Maine
— Portman of Ohio
More on what’s next for Mayorkas here:
Biden puts a timeline on Cuba remittance working group.
State and Treasury have been directed to provide “within one month, recommendations of how to maximize the flow of remittances to the Cuban people, without the Cuban military taking their cut.”
Update: The Senate will vote to confirm Mayorkas as DHS Secretary on Tuesday. No exact time yet.
Vote was scheduled for Monday at 5:30pm, but postponed due to DC weather.
TBD if this will impact timing of Biden’s Tuesday immigration-related announcements.
Crisis. Surge. Wave. Tide. Flood. Words used to describe migrants arriving at the border.
Human beings. Children. Families. Desperation. Survival. Words needed in the conversation.
I talk about a decades-old problem + words that matter in The Recast: