A new survey finds Latino voters in California and Texas expressing broad concerns about President Donald Trump’s administration’s handling of the economy, housing and artificial intelligence, with a majority worried they might encounter immigration enforcement at their polling places.
The poll was conducted by the San Francisco-based Latino Community Foundation, the nation’s largest Latino-serving philanthropic organization working to build Latino civic engagement and economic power. According to 2020 census data shared by the Association of Bay Area Governments, 24% of Bay Area residents are Latino.
Conducted during the first two weeks of September, the survey included 2,500 Democratic, Republican and undecided Latino voters, 1,250 each from California and Texas.
More than 65% of those surveyed in both states are concerned that immigration or other federal officials will be at voting centers during the midterm elections, and nearly 40% in California and Texas worry that friends or family are at risk of deportation.
The poll also found support for immigration enforcement reforms, including requiring the use of body cameras, judicial warrants and banning face masks. Seventy percent of the voters polled in California and 67% in Texas said they would be more likely to support a candidate who backed reforms to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“There’s no question that the last 18 months have been very difficult ones for the community for a number of reasons, from overreach by ICE to a difficult economy, rising inflation and rising housing costs,” said Julian Castro, CEO of the foundation. “This poll reflects that anxiety.”
In California, 25% of Latino voters approved of Trump’s job performance, compared to 29% in Texas. Among respondents, 68% in California and 67% in Texas said the country was headed in the wrong direction.
“I think if there’s a top line from these numbers, it’s that this represents quite a swing back from the narrative that was developed around the community after the 2024 election,” said Castro, referring to the foundation’s survey just prior to the start of Trump’s second term.
At that time, 30% of survey participants blamed inflation on the policies of former President Joe Biden, mostly among 25- to 29-year-olds. This year, the poll found that 78% of California Latino voters and 74% of those in Texas said Trump administration policies were not doing much to help with inflation and the cost of living. Thirty-five percent in California and 40% in Texas said Trump’s policies were responsible for rising costs.
Economic concerns shape voter views
Sylvia Manzano, vice president of research firm Barreto Segura Partners Research, which conducted the survey, said half of Hispanics in both states are not confident that they can make ends meet this month, and many fear that their economic situation is worsening.
Fifty-nine percent of California respondents and 60% of Texas respondents said their personal financial situation had worsened since Trump began his second presidency in January 2025.
“Despite the narrative that often pins California and Texas at odds, Latino voters in these two states share very similar views,” Manzano said, adding that they are broadly supportive of progressive policies to address economic concerns, including requiring wealthy corporations to pay their fair share in taxes and installing regulations on AI to secure their own jobs.
Sixty-two percent of respondents favor California’s Proposition 40, a one-time 5% tax on the Nov. 3 ballot on the accumulated assets of people who have more than $1 billion in wealth to fund state healthcare, education and food assistance programs. That same percentage approve of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s job performance.
Most Latino voters, about 55% across all political parties, support Xavier Becerra as the next California governor. A majority in both states said they will support Democratic candidates for the U.S. House, 61% in California and 54% in Texas.
