These political crosscurrents are coursing through the Sixth District, which has one of the most closely watched midterm House races. A revision of the district’s boundaries combined with waves of immigrants and refugees from Ethiopia, Mexico and Nepal in recent decades has turned it into one of the state’s most diverse. It is one of 25 districts that sent a Republican representative to Washington in 2016 at the same time it gave Hillary Clinton a plurality — in this case, by a nine-point margin.
Defeating the five-term Republican incumbent, Mike Coffman, is a critical part of the Democrats’ push to win back the House in November.
Mr. Coffman distanced himself from Mr. Trump during the 2016 campaign, though he has supported him in more than 95 percent of his House votes. On immigration, Mr. Coffman has taken a more moderate line, supporting, for example, a permanent solution for the so-called Dreamers, undocumented adults who were brought to the United States as children. And he recently called on the president to part ways with his adviser Stephen Miller over the family separation issue.
Ms. Fox, who describes herself as a fierce independent and a “conservative by nature,” said that the Dreamers should be protected from deportation and that she was disturbed that children were being separated from their parents at the border.
“I don’t agree with any of it,” said Ms. Fox, who wants a long-term immigration policy. She hasn’t settled on her midterm vote yet, but said she liked Mr. Coffman.
As for the H-2B program, Mr. Steinhauer and Ms. Fox said they did not blame Mr. Trump for its flaws, noting that there were similar problems under Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush.
“I put the blame on Congress,” Ms. Fox said. “The whole issue is so toxic. Everyone in politics is afraid to do anything.”
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/27/business/economy/visas-usa-foreign-labor.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
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