Chris Martinez and the cost of a broken promise to Latinos

By Alma Cordero · Reporting from El Paso ·

After voting for Donald Trump to save their pockets, Latino workers in Arizona and Texas face high prices and raids that have turned their hope into a punishing midterm regret.

The duped voter and the empty promise

Chris Martinez feels like Donald Trump made a fool of him. The 28-year-old maintenance technician lives in Casa Grande, Arizona. He voted for the president expecting a thriving economy and no wars. Instead, he returned a vehicle because of high gas prices. He shifted food shopping to a discount grocer while the country spent months in conflict with Iran. "He's doing nothing for us, to benefit us," Martinez told PBS. "And it kind of sucks because I got duped and I feel like a dummy." Martinez went right for a while, but he is back to the middle. Millions of working-class Latinos who drifted toward Trump two years ago now find those promesas hollow.

The political landscape is shifting as the November 3 midterm elections approach. An NBC News/Telemundo poll shows 59% of Latino voters prefer Democrats to win control. Only 35% prefer Republicans. Mike Madrid, author of "The Latino Century," calls this a dealignment. Latinos are moving away because neither party provides results for working people. Voters do not see prices lowered or more jobs. Mixed-status families live in miedo. "I think we're in a red sinkhole," Tory Gavito told CNN.

The business of fear and the cost of living

The descent from the 2024 high has been brutal for small-business owners. In Maryland, Celia Salmerón watched her beauty salon collapse. She has lived in the U.S. for 40 years and voted for Trump. Now, her undocumented clients are in hiding or deported. "I don't even have enough to pay my rent," Salmerón told EL PAÍS English. She says she feels the devil got into Trump. She points to the cruelty of separating parents from their children.

This is where the policy lands. Donald Trump signed Proclamation 11013 and Proclamation 10935 to accelerate mass deportations. These orders use exit bonuses and aggressive enforcement to target the vulnerable.

In Houston, Massey Villareal reported a loss of 200,000 workers per month. Villareal no longer identifies as a Republican. He notes that Texas has deep trade ties with Mexico. "They came after us," Villareal told EL PAÍS English. "Not because we were criminals, but because of the color of our skin."

A Pew Research Center report says 70% of Hispanic voters find Trump’s policies harmful. Many say their situation is worse than a year ago.

Equis Research polling shows Democrats lead Republicans 57% among Latino voters. The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 showed how promises of status turn into betrayal. The same machine runs today, but the voters have stopped buying the ticket.

The reckoning at the ballot box

Vulnerable Republican incumbents are scrambling to distance themselves from the wreckage. In Arizona, Juan Ciscomani won his seat by just 2.5 percentage points. He now insists he is not a rubber stamp. In Florida, Maria Elvira Salazar warns that Hispanics feel betrayed. Eliott Rodriguez dismisses these appeals as crocodile tears. He notes that rent is out of reach and immigration policies are choking the district.

The parallel to Temporary Protected Status reveals the mechanism of this betrayal. This relief was created for people fleeing war or disaster. Revoking these protections leaves thousands in a state of fear. Donald Trump let El Salvador's status expire, leaving 170,000 people in legal limbo. José Flores, a shop owner who voted for Trump, now feels guilty. At least 10 people close to him have been detained or deported.

Republican leaders chose to wage economic war on the vecindarios that gave them power. They built a strategy on the illusion that fear would outweigh the cost of groceries. They misread pocketbook exhaustion as permanent devotion. The voters they manipulated are returning to the middle with a justified anger. On November 3, that anger will translate into a punishment vote. It will sweep aside the enablers and begin the work of reclaiming dignity.

Sources

  1. PBS: Latino voters helped put Trump back in the White House. What's their next move?
  2. CNN: ‘We’re in a red sinkhole’: Plummeting Latino support for Republicans could swing the midterms
  3. Pew Research Center: How Latino Voters Are Experiencing the 2026 Midterm Elections
  4. Axios: Mike Johnson's Latino voter problem keeps getting worse
  5. EL PAÍS English: Feeling blamed and deceived: Latinos who voted for Trump rebel against the Republican Party