Immigration has constantly been at the top of voters' minds this cycle, most likely due to the unprecedented number of migrant apprehensions at the southern border in the past few years. Particularly in Texas, one of the major border states with a significant Latino population, the issue has also crept up among residents' minds as Gov. Greg Abbott enacts tough tactics to decrease unauthorized crossings.
But despite violent rhetoric often enacted by its lawmakers, it seems that Texans are not far off from the rest of the country on their perceptions on immigration. That conclusion was reached by a new poll from the Texas Public Opinion Research, which surveyed 800 registered voters in the state from August 24 through August 29.
According to the study, Latinos in Texas are largely on the same page as the rest of the country when it comes to immigration and border security.
Immigration is a top-2 issue for Texans across the state, and the same is true among Latinos. TPOR reveals that 34% of all voters in the Lone Star State believe that border security should be a top priority for elected officials, with 55% of Texans characterizing immigration as a safety concern and 31% saying it is a security concern. Likewise, 43% see immigration as a humanitarian or resource issue.
Those numbers largely resemble the sentiments by their fellow Texans on immigration, where 29% of all Texans view immigration as a safety concern, and 19% believe the issue is primarily about controlling the influx of migrants at the southern border. Meanwhile, 46% consider it a humanitarian crisis or a resource issue.
Latinos and the rest of Texans also largely agree on possible solutions on border and immigration. To deal with these issues, 48% of Texans overall and 45% of Latino Texans support a balanced approach to immigration, one which secures the border and limits illegal entry, while also growing legal pathways to enter the country.
The results come as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has enacted some of the toughest immigration policies across the country and has consistently bashed on migrants coming into his state. One of them being Operation Lone Star, which launched in 2021 with the goal of deploying Texas National Guard and Texas Department of Public Safety to the southern border.
The operation not only has been expensive on Texas taxpayers, but it has also allegedly led to verbal and physical abuse byU.S. federal authorities to migrants and asylum seekers crossing the Rio Grande near El Paso.
The report comes from the grassroots organization called the Border Network for Human Rights, one of the leading immigration reform and human rights advocacy organizations in the U.S. They said degrading insults and excessive force have been on the rise.
"They got out of the van and began to attack us, saying, 'you thought you got what you wanted, you f— bastards. You're going to go back the way you came in because this is my country and here we make the rules and here the laws are respected,'" one testimony said. "You are illegals who do nothing but spend the money of those of us who pay taxes, you are worthless here. You are f— rats and are going back through the hole you came in."
Abbot, his reelection campaign and the Texas Military Department did not immediately comment on the matter.
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