OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Latino voters in South Omaha played a significant role in helping Democrats flip key races in the midterm election, according to unofficial election results, after immigration enforcement and concerns about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement emerged as major issues for some voters in the community.
Those concerns were evident months before Election Day.
On a hot August afternoon, Glenda Santamaria described how fear of ICE was affecting daily life and the food truck where she worked. She said some customers were afraid to be out in the open.
“Nowadays people are afraid,” Santamaria said.
When asked how the situation made her feel, her answer was simple: “Well, bad.”
That concern continued through the election cycle.
Kimberly Morales, who volunteered with Heartland Workers Center, said voters wanted to understand where candidates stood on ICE and immigration as they decided whom to support. Her job was to make sure neighbors understood what was on their ballots in a nonpartisan manner.
The election ultimately brought significant political change to the area, including Democrat Denise Powell’s victory in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District. Powell became the first Latina woman elected to represent the district.
After her victory, Powell specifically thanked young South Omaha voters and encouraged them to continue making their voices heard.
“Thank you, thank you, a thousand times thank you everyone,” Powell said. “You will definitely see that your voice is important. Continue to come and use your voice to communicate and tell us what you need.”
Powell also addressed concerns about immigration enforcement when asked what she would do to help people who remain fearful.
“That is a huge issue. There’s so many people who are still too scared to leave their house to go and buy groceries. They’re scared to get picked off,” Powell said. “We need to bring some serious reforms to the table. I think part of that is making sure we are holding ICE and federal law enforcement agents to the same standard we are holding our local law enforcement.”
Unofficial results from the Douglas County Election Commission also showed South Omaha voters helping elect Mark Martinez as Douglas County sheriff.
Martinez has said he does not plan to cooperate with ICE on enforcement operations.
“In terms of enforcement operations, I’m not going to work with ICE,” Martinez said. “They’re an agency that’s lacking in training and substandard hiring, and, you know, we’ve seen some tragic results.”
He also said an exception could be made.
"Unless there is a benefit to the people, and I have yet to experience that or understand that there would be a benefit. There possibly could be," Martinez said. "Unless there's a serious violent person that needs to be apprehended, well certainly."
The Nebraska Hispanic Chamber of Commerce congratulated Powell on her victory and said it plans to work with her on issues affecting Latino and Hispanic-owned businesses.
For South Omaha voters who spent the election cycle calling for change, the results now shift the focus from the campaign to what the newly elected officials will do once in office.
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XThis story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
