Why Wages May Matter More Than Immigration For Iowa's Latino Voters

Angelica Serrano still cries when she thinks of walking two days through the desert from Mexico into the US with 20 people, including her 1-year-old infant son strapped to her chest. She arrived in Arizona 23 years ago, and has since made a home in Des Moines, Iowa, where she will caucus for the first time on Monday night, with her son, who is now 24, translating to help her understand the complicated process. She plans to support Bernie Sanders.

"I've heard of a lot of people in the community supporting him," she said. "I have never caucused before, but I feel he really needs my support."

Iowa's population is overwhelmingly white, but immigrants like Serrano — including Latinos, Asians, and others — account for a growing proportion (4.8 percent) of the state's 3.1 million residents, according to the US Census Bureau. More than a third of those immigrants are naturalized US citizens, which means they can vote. That accounts for 55,000 caucus-goers that the presidential candidates hope to have in their corner on Monday night during the first contest of the 2016 election.

The polls show a neck-and-neck race between Sanders and Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, but former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley has taken a strong stance on immigration reform, earning him the support of many immigrants in Iowa and across the country.

Related: Live Blog: On the Ground at the 2016 Iowa Caucuses

Just three days before the caucuses, O'Malley received an endorsement from Gaby Pacheco, an influential immigration activist and Dreamer, the term adopted by young undocumented people who came to the country as children. Pacheco said O'Malley changed the conversation on immigration, and praised his efforts to advocate on behalf of undocumented immigrants, even though aren't able to vote.

"If it weren't for him, there would be no discussion of immigration in the Democratic party," Pacheco wrote in an op-ed for Univision and BuzzFeed.

She added that her support in part stemmed from Clinton's assertion last summer that unaccompanied minors from Central America who illegally cross the border into the US "should be sent back." Clinton made the statement in June 2014 in an interview with CNN, but added she also thinks the children, who are often fleeing violence in their homeland, should be reunited with their families.

"I was there when immigrant advocates e-mailed each other in disbelief that someone would challenge both the president and the secretary of state on how we were treating refugee children," Pacheco wrote. "We hadn't seen anything like it."

Watch the VICE News documentary America's Election 2016: Immigrant Iowa:

Yet with polls showing that less than 3 percent of Americans support O'Malley, it's unlikely that he'll become a viable candidate, forcing his supporters to decide between Clinton and Sanders. The latest Public Policy Polling survey found that 57 percent of O'Malley supporters listed Sanders as their second-choice candidate, with 27 percent saying they favor Clinton as their plan B.

Sanders announced his plan for immigration reform last summer, which outlined the need to provide some 11 million undocumented immigrants in the US with legal status. At the same time, the Vermont senator said he had concerns about opening up the borders, which would hurt jobs and wages.

Serrano, who is a cook at McDonalds who has raised three children on a wage of $9.90 an hour, said that she supported Sanders more for his economic reform platform and stance on unions than on immigration.

Related: Here's How Young Voters in Des Moines Are Getting Ready for the Iowa Caucuses

Her wage has remained the same for the last 17 years at the fast food chain. On Thursday, she walked off the job along with 11 other employees and 1,000 other workers who have joined the Fight for 15 campaign to strike for a $15 per hour minimum wage and improved work conditions.

Both Sanders and O'Malley support the $15 per hour minimum wage, while Clinton has advocated for a $12 hourly minimum.

"It was very hard raising children on the wage and stressful because if you pay one bill, you can't pay another," Serrano said. "I'm still paying off my debts from money I borrowed to get here."

Follow Liz Fields on Twitter: @lianzifields