A political robocall funded by the super PAC Battleground Alliance is taking aim at Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, criticizing her voting record on Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
The audio states, “Salazar voted for everything Trump wanted. Eighty-three billion dollars for ICE, for 10,000 new agents, for new detention camps, to arrest grandmothers and children and people just trying to work. She toured Alligator Alcatraz and called the cages clean. She voted against making ICE agents take off their masks and wear body cameras.”
Salazar faces Democrat Eliott Rodriguez in the race for Florida’s 27th congressional district, a seat representing parts of Miami.
While the claims in the robocall are largely grounded in reality, the statement regarding body cameras leaves out important context.
Here is a breakdown and verification of the claims made in the call.
Salazar voted for “$83 billion for ICE, for 10,000 new agents, for new detention camps, to arrest grandmothers and children and people just trying to work.”
The financial figures cited in the call are accurate.
Salazar supported H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was signed into law by Trump in July 2025. The legislation allocated roughly $75 billion to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including $45 billion dedicated to detention facilities and nearly $30 billion for hiring personnel. According to the Department of Homeland Security, these funds were designated to expand detention capacity and bring on 10,000 new agents.
Additionally, Salazar voted in June for the Secure America Act, which provided ICE with an additional $38.5 billion.
Battleground Alliance explained that the $83 billion figure comes from combining the $45 billion for detention facilities from the first act with the $38.5 billion from the Secure America Act.
Under the Trump administration’s stated policy, any undocumented immigrant is subject to removal. Media reports have documented ICE detaining older individuals, children, and workers.
“She toured Alligator Alcatraz and called the cages clean.”
Following a July 2025 tour of the former Alligator Alcatraz immigration facility in South Florida, Salazar told CBS News: “It’s a jail, people are in a cage, I sat on the beds, they are clean, they are soft… It was clean and it was very well presented. I’m talking to you about the areas that I visited.”
During the interview, she maintained that the site adhered to the highest benchmarks for federal detention facilities of its kind. Battleground Alliance also referenced similar remarks Salazar made on Fox & Friends.
An investigation by the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times revealed that in July 2025, more than 250 of the roughly 750 detainees held at the facility had no pending charges or criminal convictions in the United States.
In September, a South Florida resident whose father was held at the facility publicly confronted Salazar. The confrontation followed a Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General report concluding that the center fell short of standards regarding medical care, environmental health and safety, food service, and personal hygiene, while also highlighting the use of small metal enclosures for some detainees.
Addressing the incident with NBC 6, Salazar stated that the individual had previously turned down assistance regarding her father’s case, calling the confrontation a coordinated political stunt.
“She voted against making ICE agents take off their masks and wear body cameras.”
This claim lacks crucial context.
Salazar has not cast a direct vote against legislation prohibiting masks or mandating body cameras for ICE agents; in fact, she supported funding for those cameras.
Records show Salazar voted against a Democratic motion to recommit a bill that would have required agents to wear body cameras, remove masks, display badges, and possess judicial warrants during arrests. However, she later voted for the final version of the legislation enacted in April, which set aside $20 million for body cameras while omitting any mask ban.