For many people, seeing a Latino working for ICE or Border Patrol can feel contradictory.
For many decades, Latinos were often viewed as a monolith by politicians and political strategists. While Latino voters have never been politically identical, there was a widespread assumption that immigration politics alone would keep most Latinos aligned with the Democratic Party.
That assumption was challenged in the 2024 presidential election when Donald Trump won an estimated 42 percent of the Latino vote, up from 32 percent in 2020 and 28 percent in 2016. Particularly among Latino men, his support reached an estimated 47 percent, surprising many political observers.
After all, Donald Trump built much of his political identity and ensuing presidential campaigns around promises of tough immigration policies. During his first presidential campaign, Trump famously stated that Mexico was sending people who were "bringing drugs," "bringing crime," and that some were "rapists."
"When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best,” he said in the infamous speech. “They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."
Trump's campaign was largely fueled by promises of stronger border security and mass deportations. Many of these messages were heavily associated with Mexican and Latino immigrant communities.