San Francisco based immigration attorney speaks about switching parties, voting Trump in 2024
Mass migration, overflows at the border, and worsening street conditions because of drug dealing and crime in San Francisco are some of the issues Karina Velasquez started paying more attention to after the 2020 elections.
"I was actually totally against President Trump in his first term," said Velasquez.
She said she switched parties and voted for Trump in 2024, after supporting Hillary Clinton in 2016, and campaigning for Biden in 2020.
As an immigration attorney in San Francisco, Velasquez says an uncontrolled border under Democrats worsened and affected her clients seeking legal immigration status.
"Immigration delays during the Biden administration were horrendous. I'm talking about people who did interviews for asylum. I have those cases," said Velasquez.
Velasquez came to the U.S. more than 25 years ago, becoming a naturalized citizen after spending her youth in Venezuela.
Her support for Trump is stronger today, she says, because the ouster of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro means a better life for her native country and its people.
"I kind of knew that the day of the apprehension of Maduro, the end of the regime was closer," said Velasquez.
Other Republicans in the city, like San Francisco Republican Party Chair Nick Berg, who supported Nikki Haley for President, say the G.O.P has momentum heading into year two of Trump's second administration.
"It's a long-term project. It's a work in progress. We're seeing some interest and some growth," said Berg.
Berg is also a one-time Democrat who switched parties.
The San Francisco resident says that around 2018, he became more concerned about open-air drug use and street-level crime.
He says mid-term elections this year are primed for even more change.
"I'm hoping that's an opportunity where people do some soul searching and ask themselves, which party do they really think is going to solve the problems to come," said Berg.
Velasquez believes a less divisive post-Trump era will lead to more Republicans at the local, state, and federal levels, and a more balanced approach to solving issues.
"You need to have independents, moderates, Republicans, Democrats, coming all together," said Velasquez.
It's a political shift she said she never thought she would make but stands by with conviction.