As Americans return to the polls, conversations with voters in South Texas are offering a closer look at the political mood beyond surveys and campaign analysis. The focus is the Rio Grande Valley, a predominantly Hispanic region that had traditionally supported Democrats but shifted toward Donald Trump in 2024.
Voters in the area backed Trump’s economic message and hard-line immigration policies. To assess whether that support has changed, Paola Ramos, working with El País, traveled through agricultural areas, suburbs, towns and roads lined with campaign signs across the valley.
The journey found widespread unease linked to Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. Numerous families are reportedly living out of sight, while the atmosphere has also affected local businesses. At deserted construction sites, Benny Melendez, a small construction business owner and former Trump voter, said that most of his workers—nearly all immigrants—had stopped showing up because they were afraid.
The impact is also visible in local churches, which have become noticeably emptier. Evangelical pastors described the difficulty of choosing whether to vote according to their conservative convictions or with the concerns of their congregations in mind.
The Democrats appear to be regaining ground and could win back voters who supported Trump in the previous election. However, the Rio Grande Valley remains politically contradictory, making its direction difficult to determine until the votes are counted.
Sources: El País Internacional.