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MIAMI I am dreading the 2020 presidential race, which I think will be the most brutal Americans have ever witnessed. Irrespective of who the Democratic nominee is, President Trump will use all the power and dirty tricks at his disposal to remain in power for another four years.

As was the case in 2016, if Democrats want to have any chance of defeating Mr. Trump, they will need the strong support of Latino voters. This time, however, they will have to work extra hard to get it.

The truth is that no candidate will be able to win the White House without Latino votes. Not even Mr. Trump, who got 29 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2016. A higher Latino turnout in states like Florida and Arizona could have produced a completely different outcome that year. Mr. Trump would never have won the presidency without Floridas 29 electoral votes and Arizonas 11.

The number of eligible voters of Hispanic background who did not cast a ballot in 2016 was heartbreakingly high. Over half of the 27 million eligible Hispanic voters stayed home. Why? Although many of them didnt want to vote for Mr. Trump, in part because he had made racist remarks about Mexican immigrants, they werent at all enthusiastic about Hillary Clinton.

This year, for the first time in history, Hispanics will be the largest minority group of potential voters in the United States. According to the Pew Research Center, 32 million Latinos will be eligible to vote in 2020, compared with 30 million African-Americans.

If Hispanics shake off their apathy and turn out in record-high numbers in crucial states, a Democrat may well defeat President Trump. But for this to happen, the Democrats must be honest with the Latino community: They must vow not to fall into the same traps they have in the past.

The fact that Julin Castro the only Latino to run for the Democratic nomination dropped out of the race should not be used as an excuse to stop discussing the issues most relevant to the Hispanic population: education, good jobs and health insurance. For Hispanics, it all comes down to economic opportunity, the fight against discrimination and the right to be treated as American citizens.

There is, however, another subject that remains painful for Latinos.

The Latino people hold a grudge against Democrats in general and former President Barack Obama in particular for two reasons: More than three million undocumented immigrants were deported during the Obama administration, and Mr. Obama didnt get through Congress an immigration reform bill that would have allowed millions of undocumented immigrants to remain legally in the United States.

I can guarantee that we will have, in the first year, an immigration bill that I strongly support, Mr. Obama, still running for president, told me during an interview in May 2008. The first year? I insisted. The first year, he replied.

President Obama didnt keep his promise, even though Democrats controlled Congress for most of 2009.

Janet Murgua, president of UnidosUS (formerly the National Council of La Raza), called Mr. Obama the deporter in chief, a moniker that always made him uncomfortable. The reality, however, is that the millions of deportations that took place under his watch broke Hispanic families apart.

Despite the Obama administrations failures with regard to the Hispanic community, many 2020 Democratic candidates, as well as the party itself, find it difficult to criticize the former president.

During the Sept. 12 presidential debate in Houston, I asked former Vice President Joe Biden if he and Mr. Obama made a mistake in deporting so many undocumented immigrants. The president did the best thing that was able to be done, he answered.

How about you? I responded. Im the vice president of the United States, Mr. Biden replied, failing to acknowledge that the administration had made any mistakes.

Mr. Biden highlighted the fact that Mr. Obama created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which has benefited over 800,000 undocumented young people known as Dreamers. The former vice president also thought it was outrageous to compare the Obama and Trump presidencies.

Still, the deportation issue isnt going away.

During a Nov. 21 campaign event in Greenwood, S.C., Carlos Rojas of the Cosecha Movement asked Mr. Biden to say that hed stop all deportations from Day 1 by signing an executive order. Mr. Biden refused to do that. I will not stop all deportations if you commit a crime thats a felony, he told Mr. Rojas.

Other Democratic candidates, such as Bernie Sanders, have taken a different stance. When I asked Senator Sanders in November, at a forum in Long Beach, Calif., whether Mr. Obama had made a mistake in deporting three million undocumented immigrants, he answered without hesitation. Yes, he said.

Mr. Sanders vowed to submit an immigration reform bill during his first 100 days in office. This is a promise I make, and I usually dont make promises, he told me.

The differing positions among Democratic candidates on important topics like deportations and the separation of immigrant families is causing fear among Hispanic voters and driving them away from the party. If Democrats really want to win Hispanic votes in the Nov. 3 election, they must stop making excuses and promise to avoid President Obamas mistakes. If they fail to do this, they risk alienating Latino voters and losing the election.

That is the burden of the past.

Latino voters will decide the 2020 election. Its as simple as that. If Democrats want to sway them their way, saying a few words in Spanish or posting a picture of themselves on Instagram eating tacos wont do the trick. Democrats have to explain how they plan to make Hispanics a real part of that social experiment called America. The Hispanic population is much more than an electoral fad. As the iconic Hispanic labor leader Csar Chvez said, We have seen the future, and the future is ours.

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Latino Voters Will Decide the 2020 Election - The New York Times

BAPTIST PRESS

NASHVILLE (BP) -- A Breitbart.com article recently highlighted the Evangelical Immigration Table (EIT), an organization credited with persuading multiple governors to allow refugees to resettle in their states.

The article also suggested the group has ties to the progressive billionaire George Soros. A number of blogs have circulated these rumors, charging the group and those affiliated with it as advancing an "open borders" mass immigration agenda. These claims have proved to be false.

What is EIT?

EIT is a nonpartisan coalition of evangelical groups who partner together to advocate for a bipartisan solution on immigration. According to EIT's Statement of Principles, the group advocates for a solution that respects the God-given dignity of every person, protects the unity of the immediate family, respects the rule of law, guarantees secure national borders, ensures fairness to taxpayers, and establishes a path toward legal status and/or citizenship for those who qualify and who wish to become permanent residents. In 2013, a resolution at the annual meeting of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention drew directly from the EIT Statement of Principles.

Who is part of EIT?

Several evangelical organizations serve as the formal "heads" of the coalition, including World Relief, the Assemblies of God, the National Association of Evangelicals and the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. Numerous individuals, while not a part of the coalition itself, have also joined EIT's Statement of Principles assignatories. This includes Southern Baptist leaders Jason Allen, Danny Akin, Ronnie Floyd, Kevin Ezell, J.D. Greear, Johnny Hunt, Bryant Wright, Jack Graham, Fred Luter, James Merritt and many others.

What is the ERLC's role in EIT?

The ERLC frequently participates with coalition groups on issues important to Southern Baptists. ERLC's work with a coalition does not signify agreement with the other coalition members on every issue.

As such, the ERLC continues to work with other members of EIT to advocate for a solution to immigration reform. The ERLC originally partnered with EIT under the leadership of then-president Richard Land, partly in response to the Southern Baptist Convention's 2011 resolution, "On Immigration and the Gospel," which called for a just and compassionate solution to immigration reform. Messengers to the 2018 SBC annual meeting likewise passed a resolution "On Immigration," and current ERLC president Russell Moore has remained part of the coalition, advocating for immigration reform as stated in both the 2011 and 2018 resolutions.

Does George Soros fund EIT or the ERLC?

No.

Some accusing EIT, or member groups of EIT, as being "Soros-funded" point out that EIT is supported by the National Immigration Forum, and that an organization chaired by George Soros had awarded grant money to the National Immigration Forum -- which is true. However, the grant in question represented just 2 percent of National Immigration Forum's overall budget, and further, EIT has never received or utilized any money from either George Soros or a Soros foundation.

Additionally, the ERLC has never funded or been funded by EIT or NIF. Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum confirmed this in a statement to Baptist Press: "Quite simply, there has never been a single penny from George Soros that has gone toward the work of the Evangelical Immigration Table." Likewise, ERLC has never received funding from Soros.

The fact-checking website Snopes.com published a piece in December 2019 debunking this same Soros charge aimed at another evangelical organization. Thearticledescribes the Soros accusation as consisting of "convoluted connections," claims the charges, "stretch and distort the existing facts," are "factually insupportable," and "simply false."

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EXPLAINER: ERLC, George Soros and Evangelical Immigration Table - Kentucky Today

The dairy industry faced both losses and wins last year, largely supported by the NMPFs lobbying efforts in Washington DC. Paul Bleiberg, the VP of government relations at NMPF, spoke on the organizations podcast Dairy Defined about the years victories.

Bleiberg said NMPFs first notable achievement of 2019 was the successful implementation of the Dairy Margin Coverage program. It resulted in more than $300m in payments sent to producers across the country last year.

It was authorized by the 2018 Farm Bill and made available through USDAs Farm Service Agency (FSA). It offers protection to dairy producers from fluctuating milk prices and feed costs.

The NMPF made it a goal during the 2018 Farm Bill to significantly revamp dairy policies like this one as the current margin protection program was not working. Bleiberg said the organization was able to accomplish that objective.

The second accomplishment of NMPF's year was the progress made on the Farm Workforce Modernization Act. Its an immigration reform legislation that aims to re-stabilize dairys current workforce, according to Bleiberg.

He said months of negotiation led the House to pass a bipartisan bill that will both stabilize the current workforce and allow for access to a usable future flow of workers.

The House passing the USMCA bill was NMPFs third 2019 success story, with Bleiberg calling it a joint effort with the groups trade policy team. In 2020, the Senate is likely to pass the USMCA soon.

The signs point to them doing that but were hopeful that it happens very quickly and gets that one in the books, Bleiberg said.

A big focus of NMPF this year will be working with the Senate on the agriculture labor issue, following on from the success in the House. Beyond this and USMCA, Bleiberg called it a little bit of a mixed bag.

With an election year, sometimes legislative activity grinds to a halt, he said.

Transportation and infrastructure, childhood nutrition and the Dairy Pride Act all have potential for activity this year. But he also stressed that dairy can have a significant impact on the 2020 elections, as many big dairy states also act as swing states.

He encouraged milk producers to get involved with the issues and make their voices heard to their representatives.

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NMPF outlines the legislative dairy landscape in 2020 - DairyReporter.com

Steve Hilton offered strong praise for President Trump Sunday andtookaim at his Republican criticsafterIransapparent stand-down in the latest confrontation between Washington and Tehran.

I dont think there has beenproper recognition of thesubstance of what this president isdoing.Its completely different than what weve seen before.It doesnt fit into theestablishment traditionalideological boxes, Hilton said Sunday on The Next Revolution.

Thats why they waste our timewith pointless political gameswith impeachment, Hilton continued.We saw the new approach clearly with Iran.The Democrats, never-Trumpersand their lackeys branded him awarmonger.But his strategy has beenconsistent with day one.Hes anti-war, but hes alsoanti-weak.He doesnt want to invade deserts of sandbut he doesnt want to put his headin the sand like the isolationnuts either.

ANTI TRUMP REPUBLICANS LAUNCH PAC TO DEFEAT HIM

Rattling off a series of accomplishments by the Trump administration, Hilton devoted much of his monologue to what he called the Trump revolution and fired back at establishment Republicans who criticize the president.

This is the Trump revolution, Hilton said. Pragmatic.Non-ideological.He approaches issues as abusinessman.Its a revolution in ideas and it goes way beyond foreign policy.

Hilton credited Trump for combining the best of traditional conservative ideas with positive populism, highlightinghis tax cuts, criminal justice reform, job creation, low unemployment rates, and the confirmation of several conservative judges.

How are the establishmentRepublicans reacting?he asked, pointing to a recent New York Times op-ed pennedby a group of prominent anti-TrumpRepublicans that announced the launch ofa new super PAC aimed at preventing theGOP incumbents 2020 re-election.The article, published in December, is titledWe are Republicans and we want Trump defeated.

As Americans, we need to stem thedamage he and his followers aredoing to the rule of law, theConstitution and Americancharacter, the article reads.

What? Trumps damage? Hilton fired back.Who backed the human and economic catastrophe of the Iraq war? Who brought in the disastrous1986 immigration reform creating thebrokensystem Trump is trying to fix?Who let China into the WorldTrade Organization devastating American manufacturing to the point where weliterally cant even print bibles inAmerica?Who pushed ruling class trade globalism that spawned the disastrous NAFTA putting so many Americans out ofwork in the heartland?And who assaulted the Americanfamily with policies thatcollapsed marriage rates andfamily stability?

No, Not the evil Trump,' Hilton continued.It was you, the Republicanestablishment who did this toAmerica.These never Trumpers are apologists for an elitist ideology that is anti-worker,anti-familyand anti-community.

They can write whatever pompous self-righteous nonsensethey want in the New YorkTimes.The establishment Republican party is not coming back.It is dead, Hilton concluded,killed by their policy failure and Donald Trumps policy success.

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After Trump, it will be a different Republican partyand for American workers, families, and communities, that is fantastic news.

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Steve Hilton goes off on 'establishment Republicans' criticizing Trump - Home - WSFX

First, I not only differ from my party but people in the other party too, just so you know, like - the reason immigration reform died wasn't just because of one party. It's because people were nervous about a populism that started to emerge.

My view is, is that we are a land of immigrants and we ought to recognise that. As a matter of fact, I believe America's soul is rejuvenated when people come to our country and work hard to realise dreams.

There is an orderly way to have immigration and that is to recognise people are coming here to do jobs Americans aren't doing, are not capable of doing, are unwilling to do. And we ought to have a process that enables people to come and do those jobs.

It's good for our economy. I think it's - and I think it prevents people from having to sneak in. There are labourers who do jobs people won't do. But there are also incredibly bright students who come. And I think it is a foolhardy policy to limit the number of workers that can contribute, for example, to the productivity of the United States in the internet world.

I do believe there'll be a rational immigration policy eventually passed. I think there's going to have to be some time. What's interesting about our country, if you study history, is that there are some "isms" that occasionally pop up - pop up. One is isolationism and its evil twin protectionism and its evil triplet nativism.

So if you study the '20s, for example, there was - there was an American First policy that said who cares what happens in Europe? Well, what happened in Europe mattered eventually because of World War Two.

There was Smoot Hawley which was a part of an economic policy which basically said we don't want trade. In other words, let's throw up barriers. And there was an immigration policy that I think during this period argued we had too many Jews and too many Italians; therefore we should have no immigrants.

And my point is that we've been through this kind of period of isolationism, protectionism, and nativism. I'm a little concerned that we may be going through the same period. I hope that these "isms" pass which would then allow for a more orderly look at immigration policy but I'm - look, I was raised in Texas. And you know, there's a lot of focus on the Hispanic population. I mean, if you're raised in Texas, you understand what it means to interface with Mexican-Americans who are Texan.

And you realise that we share the same values. Faith, family, you know, hard work, commitment to service and I think we ought to welcome people from different cultures to America.

The great thing about America is we ought to be confident in knowing that everybody becomes an American. And we share the same value system. In other words, there's a great capacity for our society to assimilate people.

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George W Bush warns against Trump-style immigration policies in resurfaced 2011 clip - indy100