Erika Rivera Kennedy, a “Latina conservative” and host of Minnesota Latin Radio, is a strong voice among Minnesota’s Latino community. She joined Liz Collin on her podcast and talked about how support for law and order and traditional values is spreading among the Latino community in Minnesota.
WATCH THE VIDEO:
Kennedy has lived in Minnesota for three decades. During that time, she’s watched the Latino population in the state grow to include more than 370,000 people, or about 7% of the population.
However, she points out that, generally, they all share a main concern: crime and public safety.
“The Latino community doesn’t feel safe. I think it’s one of the main concerns we have, and especially for families who’ve been here and make Minnesota their home for many years … all they ask is to have peace and to have, you know, a peaceful life,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy pushed back on the mainstream media claims that the Latino community does not support Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) doing their work in Minnesota.
“I think it’s a misconception. The main media they promote, you know, ICE is racist and they’re going to separate your family. I am very lucky to work with some of the immigration attorneys very close. We know ICE is really focused on … criminals,” Kennedy said.
“There are drug cartel members. There are killers. There are assassins. They are bringing people which actually the Latino communities are very impacted because many of these people come and live in these neighborhoods and make it so unsafe,” she added.
“So no, I think the Latino community actually are pleading for safety. They are pleading to the criminals be removed,” she said.
As a conservative, Kennedy explained how she’s seen the censorship herself with Latino organizations and the media.
“They never want to address, for example, the sex trafficking, the 400,000 children … who crossed the border and we don’t know where they are and we know for sure that many of these kids ended in sex trafficking, in sex exploitation, drug smuggling, and most of these children were Latino. You didn’t hear anybody say anything about that,” Kennedy said.
She says reporters have reached out for her political comments before from the Star Tribune, but have chose not to publish them once they found out she was a Trump supporter.
According to exit polls, Trump won the male Latino vote by 10 points in 2024.
“There is a historic change and this is because the Latino community in general is very conservative. We like the traditional families, you know, we like the principles to go to church and, you know, many people in the Latino community are very religious. Christianity is dominant in the Latino community,” Kennedy said.
But she also spoke about a significant economic factor as well.
Kennedy explained that, “The Latino community is starting to become more like entrepreneurs because it’s very young. When people become more about business and how you can really succeed in this country, you notice the opposite is true with the Democrat Party, they want to keep you low.”
“They want to keep you down and I think that being open to the Latino community starts to switch, because it doesn’t fit anymore their values as a conservative family or a person who wants to get better, not play as a victim, but actually want to exceed the expectations. They can be like any other American and live the American dream,” Kennedy added.
Liz Collin
Liz Collin is a multi-Emmy-Award-winning investigative reporter, news anchor, and producer who cares about Minnesota. She is the producer of The Fall of Minneapolis and Minnesota v We the People documentary films, and author of the Amazon best-selling book, They’re Lying: The Media, the Left, and The Death of George Floyd. Her work has prompted important state laws. Yet perhaps most of all, Liz has been giving a voice to the truth—and helping others tell their stories—for more than 20 years.
Dr. JC Chaix
Dr. JC Chaix is an editor, educator, and an expert in media studies. He wrote and directed the Alpha News documentary "The Fall of Minneapolis" and "Minnesota v We the People."
