Latinos’ Swing To Democrats Was Not Because Of ‘Deportations’

History shows Hispanic voters tend to prioritize the economy over other issues at the polls. Yet corporate media’s chosen culprit to explain why Latinos who voted Republican in 2024 suddenly turned away from the GOP in 2026 is the Trump administration’s immigration policy.

The emerging narrative that Trump’s immigration crackdown and deportation strategy drove Hispanics into the arms of Democrats is a lie directly contradicted by voter data. Yet the narrative that Latinos left the GOP over deportations proliferates — even starting long before the midterms began.

CBS’ Face The Nation determined that it was “anger over aggressive ICE operations” that drove Latino voters, especially those in Texas, against Republicans on Nov. 3. The Latin Times explained the blue tsunami with headlines using phrases like “ICE Backlash Surges.” The Guardian, similarly, claimed Trump’s “ICE tactics” “alienated” Hispanic voters to the point that they turned back to the blue party.

NBC acknowledged that “higher gas, housing and food prices played prominently at the polls” but ultimately determined it “was clear that Trump’s aggressive mass deportation policies played an outsized role in voting by Latinos.”

Even Trump speculated that his immigration policy, including the mass deportation promise he won back the White House with, was “too tough” to land with midterm voters.

The data — including data collected by the very outlets touting the emerging narrative that Trump’s immigration crackdown drove his 2024 Latino voters away from Republicans in 2026 — suggests otherwise.

While it is true that Latino voters reversed their historic 2024 shift toward the GOP back to Democrats this midterm election, the reason for that reversal was not immigration, but the economy.

“The Economy Is the Top Issue for Latino Voters in the 2026 Midterms,” Pew Research predicted one month before Election Day. Post-election data only confirmed that prediction.

One NBC exit poll found that 45 percent of Latino voters said the economy was their biggest concern going into the 2026 election. Only 15 percent reported “immigration” as “the most important facing the country.” Of those who prioritized immigration, six in 10 voted Republican.

Overall, 94 percent of Latino voters claimed cost of living was a “crucial” or “major” factor in their vote. That’s nearly 20 percentage points higher than the 76 percent of Latinos who signaled that immigration policy drove their decision at the polls. The more crucial the role a Latino voter said immigration policy played in his vote, the more likely he was to vote Republican.

Despite what corporate media claim, immigration is a winning issue for Republicans. As my colleague Federalist Staff Writer Shawn Fleetwood wrote, “Democrats also seemed to recognize that their opposition to enforcing America’s immigration laws was not a winning issue for their party heading into Tuesday’s elections.” While blue party candidates spent a decent chunk of time and money lamenting “ICE” in ads during the primaries, it “plummeted to the 35th policy issue talked about in Democrat ads” during the general election period.

As expected, gas prices, grocery bills, and general cost of living — all exacerbated by Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran — played a massive role in Hispanics’ decision to contribute to Democrats’ map sweep, as was the case with most voters who turned out to vote blue in the 2026 elections.

To suggest that Latinos, who voted for Trump and his immigration platform in 2024, turned on the GOP due to ICE alone isn’t simply misleading. It’s a lie likely designed to deter the president from using his remaining two years in office to continue the mass deportation strategy that got him reelected.

Jordan Boyd is an award-winning staff writer at The Federalist and producer of “The Federalist Radio Hour.” Her work has also been featured in The Daily Wire, Fox News, and RealClearPolitics. Jordan graduated from Baylor University where she majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow her on X @jordanboydtx.