In 2024, Hispanic voters in the Rio Grande Valley delivered a political earthquake by supporting Donald Trump in majority numbers for the first time in modern history. Now, that support is evaporating rapidly. Voters like Jessica Cantu Vuittonet, Ariel Salinas, and Luis Cabrera express fury over immigration policies and economic struggles.

Many feel abandoned after deportations, business losses, and fear of ICE. Construction has slowed, small businesses have lost customers, and optimism has curdled into deep resentment. Recent polls show Democrats leading Republicans among likely Hispanic voters by roughly 35 percentage points on the generic congressional ballot.

The shift is especially clear in Texas’s 15th, 28th, and 34th Congressional Districts, where Trump won by double-digit margins. Republican candidates now face uphill battles. Vice President JD Vance is traveling to the region to rally voters.

For many, enthusiasm for the GOP evaporated months ago. “They betrayed me, they turned their backs on us,” said Vuittonet. “Nobody cares about us here, I see that now clearly.”.