Trump Defends Deportations Amid Growing Doubts Among Latino Voters

President Trump claims he still has Hispanic support and that his immigration policy focuses on criminals, but new ICE data and a survey of Latino voters in Texas paint a more complex picture.

Why it matters

Donald Trump made it clear this Thursday that he does not plan to change the course of his immigration policy, even as signs of wear and tear appear among some Latino voters who helped expand his electoral coalition in 2024.

“We have to do what we have to do,” said the president in defense of deportations, according to statements collected by EFE.

Trump also claimed that he still has the support of Latino voters and argued that his administration is expelling people with criminal records from the country.

The available data tell a broader story.

What Trump said

“I still have the support of Latino voters,” Trump said, according to EFE.

The president went further, claiming that if elections were held now, he would win by 25 points.

This statement is a political declaration by the president, not an electoral measurement. Available polls show significant differences depending on the state, election, and voter group analyzed.

In Texas, for example, a Cook Political Report and TelevisaUnivision poll conducted between August 26 and September 3 found that only 33% of likely Hispanic voters approved of Trump’s performance.

Among Texas Hispanics who said they voted for Trump in 2024, 18% now disapprove of his management.

The figure to watch

Immigration appears to be part of this change.

Almost two out of every three Hispanic voters in Texas surveyed said they would be less likely to support a candidate who backs Trump’s deportation policy.

But there is an important distinction: this does not mean that Latino voters necessarily reject a greater enforcement of immigration laws.

As we have explained in our coverage of ICE and deportations, one of the central questions is who is being detained and how far the enforcement of the law should extend.

Trump claims that his administration is removing criminals from the country.

ICE records show that operations are also reaching a significant number of immigrants without criminal convictions.

In July, ICE made approximately 50,000 arrests, the highest monthly total of Trump’s second term. More than half of those detained had no convictions or pending criminal charges, and less than a quarter had a criminal conviction, according to federal data analyzed by AP, CBS News, and other media outlets.

The difference that may matter to voters

Here is the debate that will likely continue until November.

The Trump administration presents its strategy as a matter of security, law enforcement, and immigration control.

Its critics question that operations have expanded beyond immigrants convicted of crimes and point to the detention of people whose primary infraction is immigration-related.

For voters — and especially for many Latino families — the question is no longer simply whether the United States should enforce its immigration laws.

It is also how far that enforcement should go and who should be a priority.

But immigration is not everything

There is another important figure in the Texas poll.

Despite the political attention to ICE and deportations, the economy remains the main concern of Hispanic voters, with approximately twice the weight of immigration and ICE combined.

This reinforces something we have been observing in this series: the Latino vote does not move as a block or around a single issue.

Economy, cost of living, immigration, security, and each family’s personal experience can push different voters in different directions.

What to watch heading into November

The key question is whether the shift among some Hispanic voters who supported Trump in 2024 will impact the midterm elections. An early indicator from Texas suggests political tension, as Trump maintains his stance on deportations while some Latino voters reconsider their support.

And in close elections, even relatively small movements within that group can matter.