To: Interested Parties
From: Community Change Action, Mi Familia Vota, SEIU and United We Dream Action
Background
Community Change Action, Mi Familia Vota, SEIU, and United We Dream Action envision a future where our society treats immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers with dignity and respect. We know this vision is in jeopardy if the GOP gains control of Congress and other state and local seats across the country as they continue their dangerous anti-immigrant rhetoric that leads to bad policies and even worse outcomes for our communities.
We also know that Latinx voters will be crucial to key races not just in states like Arizona and Nevada, but also in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin where Latinx voters, along with a multiracial coalition of Black, API, and Indigenous voters helped propel President Biden to victory in 2020. The American people in battleground states, across party lines, support a compassionate stance on immigration. They also support protections for immigrant youth, citizenship for undocumented immigrants, and legislation that would stabilize the agricultural workforce.
That is why we are encouraging the Democratic Party to lead with conviction on the issue of immigration. Democrats have the ability to rally and motivate our multicultural coalition to win elections by taking a stand on the issue of immigration.
As organizations that represent and mobilize millions of key voters – including Latinx voters of all ages, high potential voters, and New American voters, we have put together this memo that includes well-tested messages that can help the Democratic Party respond compassionately and aggressively on the immigration issue, and go on the offense against the GOP.
Messages to Use
The following top messages reflect tested messaging in 6 target states (CA, NV, AZ, TX, GA, FL) that either garnered Immigration Support, increased support for a Candidate’s Stance on Immigration, Democratic Immigration Support, overall Ballot Support, Issue Importance, Motivation to Take Action, and Mobilized Voters to vote in the midterm elections. All in all, we learned that telling the story of a, directly and indirectly, impacted individual is an effective way to garner immigration support and motivate people to take action.
Top 3 messages with the highest positive impact in gaining Immigration Support across all six states for Democrats and across party lines:
- As a teenager, I was brainwashed by rumors, fictions, and made-up stories to believe that immigrants were taking from us. I have since come to realize that this is a great myth, another lie to divide us and keep us from coming together…[cont. here]
- I was 13 years old when I came to California from Mexico to take care of my grandmother. I helped care for her in our home and in the hospital while my grandfather worked in construction. This is when I found my love for caring for others…[cont. here]
- Our country is at its best when we live by our values of freedom, opportunity and dignity for every person. People who work, including immigrants, strive to achieve the American Dream, alongside their families and communities…[cont. here]
Top 3 messages with a positive impact encouraging voters to Take Action on immigration across all six states across party lines:
- I was 13 years old when I came to California from Mexico to take care of my grandmother. I helped care for her in our home and in the hospital while my grandfather worked in construction. This is when I found my love for caring for others…[cont. here]
- Our country is at its best when we live by our values of freedom, opportunity and dignity for every person. People who work, including immigrants, strive to achieve the American Dream, alongside their families and communities…[cont. here]
- Our votes are not blank checks. We want leaders in Congress who will deliver on the promise of keeping families together through immigration reform. It’s time to vote for leaders who will fight for all of us, our families, and our communities, regardless of where we come from or the color of our skin.
The top message that Mobilized People to Vote in the 2022 midterm elections across all 6 states across party lines was the story of a directly impacted person:
- I was 13 years old when I came to California from Mexico to take care of my grandmother. I helped care for her in our home and in the hospital while my grandfather worked in construction. This is when I found my love for caring for others…
- Note that Message 10 and 11 in this document had a positive impact on Voter Mobilization for Democrats across all 6 states. With your photos in short videos in the chat or in the dropbox
- Of note, Message 7 in this document – had a negative impact on Voter Mobilization: Republicans fuel corporate greed which in turn drives prices up. Many of us, including immigrants, do the essential work that keeps America running despite unsafe workplaces, low wages and no benefits…
- See additional State-by-State topline messages tested in Swayable here.
The following messages were tested in 4 target states (NV, AZ, TX, FL) to persuade Latino youth (17-34) voters to increase their support of DACA, a pathway to citizenship, and the belief that immigrants are good for the community, as well as mobilize key voting blocs:
- A handful of Republican politicians are obsessed with uprooting our communities by deporting DACA recipients and their families. They are fueling fears about immigrants as a way to divide us. But, we know the truth, DACA recipients, and all immigrants, play a vital role in creating thriving communities. We need to elect politicians who will defend the right of DACA recipients to stay in our communities with a pathway to citizenship.
- Of note, in Arizona and Texas, this message reduced vote mobilization among moderate to very conservatives.
- Hundreds of thousands of immigrant youth protected by the DACA program have called our country home for decades. Unfortunately, their lives continue to be in limbo as Republicans seek to end the DACA program and put them on a path to deportation. Many young people have been forced to stall their education and career plans all while they live life without a pathway to citizenship. Immigrant youth deserve freedom, safety, and the ability to live their lives without uncertainty about their futures.
- Of note, this message increased belief that immigrants are good for the community in Florida, and reduced vote mobilization among moderate to very conservatives.
The following messages were tested in 4 target states (NV, AZ, TX, FL) to see which messages best countered Republican disinformation and fear mongering about the border among Latino youth (17-34) voters:
- People who are immigrants and refugees are our neighbors, our friends, our colleagues, and more, and they contribute greatly to the safety and well-being of our communities all across the country. It is our responsibility to live up to our values as a county of freedom and dignity for all and welcome people who are immigrants and treat them with the dignity and respect we all deserve. We need politicians who will create a fair immigration process that protects dignity and people’s right to seek safety in our country.
- Of note, this message reduced the likelihood that moderates to very conservatives will vote.
- Many have been raised to think that there isn’t enough for all of us or that people who come to our borders to seek asylum are less deserving. But all of us deserve freedom, dignity, respect, equitable access to resources, and joy. People come to our border to seek asylum for a variety of reasons, and in order to make a world where we are all free, we need to protect those who are most vulnerable.
- Of note, this message reduced agreement of the GOP anti-immigrant rhetoric that immigrants are less deserving of resources in this country than native born citizens.
The following message was tested on Latino eligible voters, with oversamples in 8 key states for the midterms Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Florida, and the results showed that 71% totally agreed with the message:
- If Congress does not pass a comprehensive immigration reform law, the Biden Administration must use its executive authority to protect undocumented immigrants, like Dreamers, farmworkers, and essential workers who have lived in America for a long time.