Pete Mendoza
Pete Mendoza / Vaquero Radio
As Primary Elections approach, a political science professor says more concerns surrounding immigration and border policies begin to affect voters and their choices, especially in Texas.
UTRGV Assistant Professor of Political Science Alvaro Corral said Texas is a key state in immigration and border policies.
“Texas is a border state and especially thinking about the Rio Grande Valley,” Corral said. “Everything about movement of goods and people is always a major issue in Texas and especially in South Texas. There’s obviously been a lot of state and national attention to the arrival of immigrants at the southern border.”
He said the number of immigrants with and without legal permission has risen, noting that a reason can be individuals looking for asylum in the U.S.
“There’s just a whole host of reasons in terms of global political instability that may be contributing to a rise in asylum seeking,” Corral said.
Mechanical engineering sophomore Thomas Green said some people just want asylum.
“There’s a lot of violence going on and people want to escape that,” Green said.
Corral said there is a bottleneck effect made by limited asylum processing spots, which also pushes the issue.
He said officials such as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott push the legal boundaries of immigration.
“On the one hand, Operation Lone Star has meant that he’s devoted state law enforcement personnel to the southern Mexico border,” Corral said. “Other things that have occurred because of Operation Lone Star has been the concertina-wire-wrapped buoys that sit in the river. And so, there’s been multiple measures that he has taken that have sort of been escalating the situation for him in the eyes of the law.”
UTRGV business freshman Abigail Benitez said Texas policies involving immigration and the border are unethical.
“I do think they are necessary, but how they’re doing it, especially here in Texas, is not morally correct,” Benitez said.
Corral said democrats and republicans have their own viewpoints when it comes to immigration. Democrats are more inclined to assist immigrants while republicans see the rise of immigrants as a problem.
He said as the Primary Elections begin, the issue of immigration will play a major role in not only Texas but also with the presidential race. He predicts democratic and republican voters will become more polarized with their chosen viewpoints.
For more information about the primaries, visit the Texas Secretary of State website.
This is Pete Mendoza for Vaquero Radio.
