Since the resurgence of former President Donald Trump in U.S. politics, concerns about immigration enforcement have intensified, particularly within Latino communities. Over 60 individuals have died while in the custody of immigration authorities or during enforcement actions, including two recent cases last week involving Latino immigrants Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston and Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine. These incidents have reinforced fears among many Latinos that their ethnicity makes them targets of aggressive immigration policies.
However, the dynamics of immigration enforcement and Latino attitudes toward immigration are complex. Notably, many personnel involved in immigration enforcement agencies—such as the Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)—are themselves Latino. For example, Latinos constitute a majority of Border Patrol agents and around 20 to 30 percent of ICE agents. Cases like the January killing of Alex Pretti by two Hispanic Customs and Border Protection officers challenge the assumption that Latino identity naturally aligns with opposition to restrictionist immigration policies.
Historically, Latino communities have occupied a nuanced position within U.S. society—often facing discrimination yet sometimes supporting policies aimed at restricting immigration. This phenomenon dates back to at least the 1950s, when prominent Latino leaders and organizations endorsed deportation campaigns like Operation Wetback, which targeted hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants. Support for such measures was frequently linked to concerns over labor competition, as migrant workers were often employed to undermine unions and suppress wages.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, these tensions persisted. Labor movements such as the United Farm Workers often viewed undocumented workers as threats and took actions that included reporting migrants to immigration authorities and organizing patrols along the border, some leading to confrontations. The civil rights era and the rise of Chicano activism brought shifts in racial and political identities among Mexican Americans, reducing the dominance of restrictionist views but not eliminating them entirely. Concerns about labor markets, social status, and community cohesion remained influential factors.
Latino attitudes toward immigration and nativist policies have continued to vary. During the 1994 California ballot initiative Proposition 187, which aimed to bar undocumented immigrants from accessing public services, polling indicated that nearly half of Latinos considered supporting the measure despite only about a quarter ultimately voting in favor. Latino support for restrictionist politics resurfaced in recent decades, notably during Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, with “Latinos for Trump” factions playing a visible role. In the 2024 election cycle, Trump expanded his appeal among Latino voters, particularly men and those in heavily Latino border regions, leading several counties along the U.S.-Mexico border to shift toward him.
The alignment of some Latino individuals and communities with restrictionist and right-wing politics reflects broader social and political shifts. The American right has reconfigured its boundaries, increasingly prioritizing opposition to multiculturalism, immigration, and progressive social movements over narrow racial categorizations. This shift has allowed prominent people of color, including Latinos, to emerge as influential figures within the movement. Far-right groups have also recruited Latino leaders who share their agenda, such as Enrique Tarrio, an Afro-Cuban former Proud Boys leader pardoned by Trump, and Nick Fuentes, a white supremacist influencer with Mexican American heritage.
For many Latinos involved in immigration enforcement or supportive of restrictionist policies, participation offers a sense of belonging and a role as defenders of law, order, and traditional American values. Experts emphasize that Latino support for these positions is not paradoxical but rather part of a longstanding and complex history spanning decades.
Recent polling suggests that Latino support for Trump and the Republican Party may be waning, highlighting the fluidity of political affiliations within the community. Historians caution that understanding Latino engagement with immigration politics requires acknowledging this multifaceted past rather than assuming a simple binary of opposition or support.