Texas Border Voters Weigh Immigration Ahead of Midterms
Over 4.2 million Texans have already cast early votes for the November 3 midterm elections, according to the Texas Secretary of State's office. Among the places where those ballots are being weighed is the Rio Grande Valley, a subtropical region in southeast Texas with about 1.5 million residents.
Border issues helped propel Donald Trump in the Rio Grande Valley in the 2024 presidential election, according to Al Jazeera. In Hidalgo County, Trump won 51 percent of the vote that year, a three-point margin over Kamala Harris. Four years earlier, Joe Biden had beaten Trump there by 17 percentage points. In Cameron County, Trump won by about five points in 2024, after losing by 13 points in 2020.
The shift is not uniform across the region. Dr. Ivan Melendez, a Rio Grande Valley health official, voted for Trump in the past and is reconsidering his vote in the midterms.
Immigration enforcement is also present in personal stories from the area. According to Al Jazeera, the aunt of Juliana Garcia, who lives in Progreso, was deported within 36 hours after signing a voluntary deportation form following a hearing with the Department of Homeland Security.
Federal policy has also been before the courts. In early October, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration's efforts to impose fines of up to $1.8 million on migrants who fail to leave the United States.
In Brownsville, Texas, a Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, vigil honoured victims of state violence, including people killed in immigration enforcement and detention.
