While I could quote myself, I will quote a writer for the Houston Chronicle, Regina Lankenau.
Almeida was the picture of nonchalance. But when I asked her what made her anxious about this election, her eyes widened and her voice lowered. “Oh immigration, of course,” she said. “We need more control.”
I paused, suddenly questioning the conclusions I’d drawn about her. “So, just so I understand,” I said, “can I ask who you voted for for president?”
“Oh, I’m for Donald Trump,” she said beaming. She had voted for him during the last election as well. Her reasoning was simple: “I trust him more. I trust he will build a better wall.”
To say her response was jarring to hear is an understatement. It felt, well, a lot like waking up on Wednesday morning to see that more than half of Latino voters in Texas – a group that represents a third of the state’s electorate – had staked their hopes on Trump in this election.
Democrats and the media can hit voters with statistic after statistic showing that, under the Biden administration, the economy is doing better than it feels. But if people are struggling to make rent or pay the total at the H-E-B checkout, they’re not going to believe it. That includes Latinos, almost 80% of whom are working class.
As University of Houston political science professor Jeronimo Cortina told the Chronicle recently, “It’s not about how Wall Street is doing, it’s about going to the grocery store and being able to afford the cereal your kids like.”
For working-class immigrants especially, that economic anxiety is closely linked with fear of new immigrants coming to displace them. And as I noted in a column earlier this year, those fears aren’t all that unfounded. Research shows that an influx of low-educated immigrants can depress wages for low-skilled jobs, hurting those at the bottom of the economic ladder the most.
Too many immigrants who work in jobs that are dependent on illegal immigration forget that is probably the reason why they were hired in the first place. Border Patrol officers are there because of the constant flow of people trying to enter illegally. If that flow were to stop, many would soon find themselves looking for jobs. If you live along the border, the number of good-paying jobs is limited along the border.
The work crew members who trimmed the trees after Hurricane Beryl were here illegally. The second crew that came here to do a better job were all here illegally, with maybe one exception. Who is going to do the work, and if they do find people to replace them, how much will they have to pay them?
Roofing: You will have problems finding people, and if you do find them, you will have to pay a lot more.
You better start getting your exercise by mowing your yard or paying a lot more for made-in-America labor.
The only good thing is that there will be no intent to deport so many people; too many Republican businesses depend on cheap labor, so I don’t expect they will deport 16 million people here illegally. They could create a revolving door, send some back, and let some sneak in.
It will be an interesting few years ahead. I expect that China may take the opportunity to invade Taiwan with Trump at the helm.
As to why quote someone else, too many people think that being a reporter makes them more intelligent and holders of more facts.