- A new poll shows Texas Hispanics turning against deportation policies after backing Donald Trump in twenty twenty-four.
- James Talarico leads sixty-one percent of Hispanic respondents, while he and Ken Paxton are tied overall at forty-seven percent.
- Business owners, including Benny Melendez, say immigration crackdowns are hurting operations across Houston neighborhoods and beyond.
A new poll finds Texas Hispanics turning against deportation policies after a majority backed Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. A separate survey shows Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico dominating among Hispanic business owners.
The shift comes as business owners report increasing difficulty operating under the administration’s immigration crackdown. Benny Melendez, who voted for Trump in 2024, now says the policies have made running his small business harder.
The broader poll found Talarico winning 61% of Hispanic respondents. Republican Ken Paxton, Texas’ attorney general, and Talarico were tied at 47% each among all voters.
Talarico’s advantage widened among key groups. He led Paxton by 27 points among independent voters and by 18 points among women.
The survey was conducted June 19–27, 2026. The contest could determine whether Republicans retain the gains they made with Hispanic voters in Texas two years earlier.
Deportation enforcement is reaching Houston neighborhoods and businesses
The administration’s immigration policies have produced a sharp surge in deportations and expanded Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in Latino neighborhoods, including Houston’s East End.
An ICE shooting there killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. The incident has intensified scrutiny of enforcement activity in the city.
At least 14 immigrants have died in ICE custody in Texas since 2025. The deaths include Norlan Guzman-Fuentes, 37, from El Salvador, and Miguel Angel Garcia-Hernandez, 31, from Mexico.
Those events form the backdrop to the business-owner survey. Melendez’s experience illustrates how voters who initially supported the administration are now confronting the effects of its enforcement strategy in their daily operations.
Talarico is pairing Hispanic support with a narrow statewide race
The polling gives Talarico a strong lead among Hispanic voters even as the overall contest remains tied. His campaign raised a record $30 million in the second quarter.
He is seeking to become the first Democrat elected to the Texas Senate in nearly 40 years. The race has drawn national attention as Republicans assess whether immigration policy is weakening their support among Hispanic voters.
Republicans in Texas are reportedly panicking after new polling showed Hispanic voters moving away from the party over dissatisfaction with deportations. The current findings suggest that the issue could reshape the 2026 elections if it remains prominent through the midterm campaign.
Melendez’s reversal puts a personal face on that possibility. He supported Trump once, but the policies he backed now make his business harder to run.
