With Texas’ primary elections less than a month away, immigration enforcement has become a defining issue in the race for the state’s U.S. Senate seat, as Republican leaders urge the Trump administration to adjust how deportations are carried out and Democrats argue for dismantling ICE amid protests and voter anger.
Texas, a longtime battleground for national immigration policy, is seeing the debate intensify in the contest for its U.S. Senate seat as primary elections near.
Governor Greg Abbott has called on the Trump administration to “recalibrate” its immigration enforcement approach, framing the request as a need to restore “respect for ICE” while continuing deportations without what he described as intervention from citizens, according to an NPR interview with Blaise Gainey of The Texas Newsroom.
Sen. John Cornyn, the Republican incumbent, has echoed the call for de-escalation while warning that Americans should not cross from peaceful protest into interfering with law enforcement activity, Gainey said.
On the Democratic side, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett and state Rep. James Talarico have said they would seek to abolish ICE if elected, according to the same NPR report.
Public anger has also been visible. Gainey reported that high school students across Texas participated in walkouts last week protesting ICE enforcement, and that demonstrations were held at the Texas Capitol in Austin and elsewhere. He said the backlash has not been purely partisan.
In the NPR segment, Gainey also described heightened frustration among Latino voters, noting that Republicans drew significant Latino support in 2024 partly on promises to improve the economy, but that some voters now say they feel “tricked” as deportation efforts have not been limited to “hardened criminals.”
Gloria Leal, an Austin resident interviewed in the report, said recent ICE enforcement and immigration-law changes around the country have persuaded many Latinos that President Trump “has gone too far” in his immigration enforcement efforts.
The two leading Democrats have broadly similar priorities, but supporters say their styles differ. Gabriel Rosales, identified in the NPR interview as a director with the Texas League of United Latin American Citizens, said he backs Crockett for her combative approach, calling her “no hold[s] bar[s]” and saying Democrats need people “that are going to fight.”
Texas remains a heavily Republican-leaning state in statewide contests. As Gainey noted, no Democrat has won a statewide race in Texas in roughly three decades, meaning any Democratic nominee would face an uphill fight even as activists point to heightened energy and engagement this cycle.
