Starr County residents told Fox News Digital they see the border and immigration as top issues going into the president’s second administration.
Immigration has been a fixture of President Trump’s agenda since he got into politics and Latin Americans in one Texas border county told Fox News Digital that they fully back his efforts.
Starr County, Texas, which sits on the border of Mexico and the United States, is almost 100 percent Latino, and the county flipped to the Republican Party for the first time in over 130 years after Trump won it in the 2024 election.
Now, Starr County residents see the border, immigration and the economy as the top issues going into the president’s second administration.
“The main things of border protection and cleaning up the economy, bringing back down these horrific prices that are through the roof,” Marcus Canales, precinct chairman of the Starr County GOP, said.
David Porras, a former farmer who switched from the Democratic Party to the GOP in 2024, said he wants to see Trump follow through on his promise to address inflation, immigration and the economy.
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“I myself sold some property to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,” he said in reference to the construction of the border wall. “So we went along with it. Trump believes in building the wall.”
His comments are in line with Fox News polling, which found that a quarter of voters say Trump’s top focus should be on the economy/jobs, inflation and high prices, while another 13 percent said immigration and deportation should be his No. 1 priority.
Other residents also told Fox News Digital that they support Trump’s efforts to finish the border wall during this second term in office.
Amanda Garcia, the vice president of the Republican Women of Starr County, said the border wall should be the first thing Trump should focus on after being sworn in.
“We need to look into finishing that because living right here, we live in a border city,” she said. “It’s important to make sure that we get the families taken care of and do the whole immigration process the right way.”
Ross, a member of the Starr County GOP, agreed, stating that border security is one of the first things he would like to see Trump address when he takes office.
Alberto Olivares, who previously ran for Sheriff of County TX and served as an agent for the Customs and Border Patrol for 26 years, echoed a similar sentiment. He said the border and the economy are “the two most important priorities for our country” and “the things that I hear people down here complaining about the most.”
Jay Pena, an attorney Rio Grande City in Starr County, said the border is “an ugly and crude but necessary solution.”
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“I think it’s hard to open the door to other ideas that might work in the long term and, for that reason, the border wall really is the only necessary solution,” he added.
When asked what she would like to see from the Trump administration, Oneida, a member of the Republican Women of Starr County, said she would like to see the wall finished.
Amanda said that being so close to the border makes immigration personal for her and her neighbors in Starr County.
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“We see a lot going on, and it’s not about racism or what we want… as far as what’s better for us,” she said. “But it’s for the families, the children coming over and it all comes back to the children. I think there’s a lot of abuse, a lot of things that aren’t being talked about that need to be addressed.”
Olivares predicted Trump will keep his promise and finish the border wall.
“Those are the policies that he instituted in his first term,” he said. “They’re successful. People liked them. We saw a lot of success in the Border Patrol under those last two years in his first term and I expect that to continue.”
“He promised, I believe in him, and I believe he will finish it,” Marissa, a Starr County resident, said.
