ICE crackdown prompts some Texas Latinos to turn away from Trump

Some Latino voters in South Texas, including people who backed Donald Trump in 2024, are souring on his mass deportation push, and Democrats are counting on that discontent in the November midterms. Texas is the test case, since Republicans made large gains among Latinos there in 2024, especially in border communities, according to CBS News.

CBS News polling shows close to 60% of Latinos believe deportations have exceeded what they anticipated. In McAllen, construction company owner Benny Melendez said he has put up fencing at job sites so Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents need judicial warrants to enter. Workers have been detained or are afraid to show up, he said, so a house that once took about four months now takes a year. Having voted for Joe Biden and then Trump, Melendez says he regrets both choices. Jessica Vuittonet, who owns a coffee shop in San Benito, likewise regrets her Trump vote, pointing to local residents held by ICE.

McAllen's Republican mayor, Javier Villalobos, called the crackdown his constituents' top concern and cautioned that his party could lose ground. Border czar Tom Homan said he does not care about the midterms and is focused on securing the border and enforcing the law.

Summarized by PolitiKool from CBS News’s reporting. Read the full story at CBS News →