New poll results published by the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin report that the number of Hispanics who strongly support a mass deportation effort of illegal aliens jumped from 25 percent in June 2023 to 38 percent as of most recently.

However, when accounting for those who both strongly agree and somewhat agree with the proposition, 56 percent of Hispanic respondents to the latest poll support a mass deportation.  

Background

The first set of data—which polled a sample of 1,200 registered Texas voters matched to a sampling frame based on age, race, and sex—was conducted between June 2 and June 12, 2023. Among other questions, the respondents were asked, “Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: Undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States should be deported immediately.”

Of those who answered yes, 25 percent of Hispanic respondents strongly agreed while 22 percent said they somewhat agreed. Ten percent either had no opinion or did not know. 

After the turn of the new year, that number had increased. Polling numbers gathered between February 2 and 12 of the same sample size show that the number of Hispanic respondents who strongly agree that all illegal aliens need to be immediately deported jumped to 27 percent. However, the number of Hispanics who only somewhat agreed dropped to 16 percent. The number of those who did not have an opinion or did not know remained at 10 percent. 

The Latest Poll

Both the number of Hispanics who strongly agree and only somewhat agree with immediately deporting all illegal aliens shot up two months later in April when new results were published. Of Hispanic respondents, a whopping 38 percent strongly agreed that the federal government should implement a deportation policy that would expel foreign aliens who are in the country illegally. 

Those who only somewhat agreed with the strategy numbered 18 percent. This comes out to be 56 percent of Hispanic respondents who want the federal government to remove illegal aliens from inside the United States. 

Texas Scorecard asked former ICE special agent Victor Avila what his thoughts were on the rising numbers. “Well first of all, I’ve got to tell you that I’m not surprised at all,” he said. Avila then reflected on his encounters with Hispanic long-time Democrats during his March Congressional race in CD 23 along the border from El Paso to San Antonio—saying that they are now going to vote for Trump as a result of the effects of President Biden’s border policies.  

“The number one issue is border security and illegal immigration,” stated Avila. “Public safety, obviously, is big amongst the community. They don’t feel safe, and they don’t feel that what they did to get here legally is being recognized by this administration when you have millions of people doing it illegally by breaking the law and avoiding what was asked of them.” 

Avila then explained that legal immigrants are asked to adhere to a very thorough vetting system. “Albeit, I get it, we need to fix that system as well—I’m the first one to tell you that. However, they paid their dues, they did the medical backgrounds, they did the criminal checks, they did everything the U.S. government asked them to do to be here.” 

He then said long-time Hispanic Democrats view the current administration’s border policies as a slap in the face when “millions of people not only did not have to go through that process but on top of that, are getting resources that they don’t qualify for.” 

“And believe me, the people are paying attention now,” Avila stated. 

Will Biagini

Will was born in Louisiana and raised in a military family. He currently serves as a journalist with Texas Scorecard. Previously, he was a senior correspondent for Campus Reform.

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