AUSTIN – A poll conducted prior to the midterm election reveals that there was widespread concern among border residents about federal, state, and local immigration enforcement.
The ACLU of Texas conducted the poll and says its findings bore out on Election Day, as voters overwhelmingly swept pro-ICE, anti-immigration candidates out of office.
“Voters along the border and throughout the state sent a resounding message to Texas leaders: We have had enough, get ICE out of our communities,” said Osvaldo Grimaldo, policy strategist on border and immigrants’ rights at the ACLU of Texas. “We’re not surprised by these election night results after our poll of El Paso and Rio Grande Valley showed residents felt that anti-immigration policies had gone too far.
“Latino voters have been impacted by this state’s harmful immigration policies and hope for the day that Texas creates a welcoming environment for our immigrant communities — now more than ever, that day is near.”
The report, entitled “Gone Too Far: Border Residents in Texas Are Concerned About Immigration Enforcement,” shared results from a poll conducted by Change Research of 1,031 adults in El Paso County and four Rio Grande Valley counties (Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, and Willacy) between Aug. 25 and Sept. 2.
The ACLU of Texas commissioned the survey to better understand how border residents across the political spectrum feel about the surge in immigration enforcement.
Key findings include:
53 percent of border residents think state and local immigration enforcement presence makes life harder without making their communities safer. Only 34 percent say it makes their communities safer;
63 percent of border residents, including people who have a family member employed by a federal immigration enforcement agency, believe ICE tactics have gone too far; and
64 percent of border residents want local and state law enforcement to prioritize preventing and solving crime rather than immigration enforcement.
Across the surveyed regions, Trump had an approval rating of 34 percent and disapproval rating of 60 percent — with 57 percent disapproval in the RGV and 65 percent disapproval in El Paso. The president won the four surveyed Rio Grande Valley counties during the 2024 election but lost El Paso County.
