Arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement of people with no criminal record are surging. Federal immigration agents have shot at nearly two dozen people – most of them Latino – since last year, according to The New York Times. Those include the fatal shootings of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Texas and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine.
The group that helped Trump win is losing faith in America — but it isn't about politics
President Donald Trump won 43% of the Hispanic vote in 2024, up from 35% in 2020 – a big gain for Republicans. Now, as the midterms approach, Hispanic Americans across party lines are losing faith in the American Dream, and his administration’s immigration crackdown appears to be part of the reason.
This climate of aggressive immigration enforcement may be affecting Hispanic Americans’ sense of belonging and their belief that they can pursue a better life in the United States. The Public Religion Research Institute 2026 survey on American identity asked more than 5,000 adults about their thoughts on the American Dream: the idea that if you work hard, you’ll get ahead. Just 40% of Hispanic Americans say that dream holds true today, down from 52% just two years ago.
I’m the director of research at PRRI, and I study public opinion and immigration. I recently analyzed nearly 700 survey responses from Hispanic Americans to understand which factors are associated with the belief that the American Dream no longer holds true. I found that national pride, concerns about democratic rights and freedoms, attachment to living in the U.S., and Trump’s handling of immigration are significantly associated with this belief.
Surprisingly, however, party affiliation is not.
Hispanic Americans – Republican, Democrat and independent – are experiencing a growing sense of isolation, feeling less safe, less welcome and more like strangers in their own country.
Shifting views
The share of Hispanic Americans who identify as Republican has more than doubled, from 10% in 2013 to 21% in 2025. Over the past year, however, Hispanic Americans’ favorable views of Trump’s handling of immigration have dropped – from 31% in 2025 to 19% in 2026.
Whether Republicans keep their recent gains among Hispanic voters in the November 2026 midterms may depend on whether those voters feel the administration has made their families less safe and their finances less secure. Most Hispanic Americans – 68% – believe the surge of ICE officers is making communities less safe.
Pride has also slipped. Just 42% of Hispanic Americans say they are extremely or very proud to be American, compared with 51% of Americans overall. To be sure, national pride has fallen sharply across the country, from 82% in 2013 to 51% today. But among Hispanic Americans, the drop has been even steeper: from 77% to 42%. A majority of Hispanic Americans – 56% – now say they feel like strangers in their own country.
Concerns about the state of democracy may also be contributing to Hispanic Americans’ shifting views. When eligible voters fear they could be disenfranchised based on unfounded claims about noncitizen voting, it weakens their sense of belonging and their confidence in democratic institutions.
Research shows that Latino citizens already face disproportionately negative effects from strict ID policies, which researchers suggest may be partly due to being less likely to have an ID and feeling intimidated by an increasingly hostile immigration environment that could put undocumented family members at risk. The proposed SAVE America Act, which would require additional documentation to vote, would make voting even more difficult for them.
Declining faith
To understand how Hispanic Americans view the American Dream, I analyzed PRRI’s survey, accounting for differences in race, age, gender, education, religion, employment, income, region, parenthood, survey language and party identification. Even with those controls, unfavorable views of Trump’s handling of immigration remained significant. Weaker levels of national pride, weaker attachment to the U.S. and concerns about democratic rights were significantly associated with the belief that the American Dream no longer holds true.
One additional factor was statistically significant: survey language.
Unexpectedly, Hispanics who completed the survey in Spanish were more likely to believe that the American Dream holds true than those who completed the survey in English. This could be because some Spanish-language respondents evaluate economic opportunities in the U.S. relative to those in their countries of origin.
One factor that was not statistically significant was party identification.
After accounting for other characteristics, Hispanic Democrats, Republicans and independents do not significantly differ in whether they believe the American Dream holds true. This suggests that declining faith goes beyond partisanship and reflects a more fundamental question about this group’s sense of belonging.
In America, 1 in 5 people identify as Hispanic. When a growing segment of American society begins to doubt that hard work leads to opportunity, that citizenship provides security, or that participation brings acceptance, the consequences go beyond which party they will support in November. The deeper question is whether people are beginning to lose faith in the country itself, including its democratic promises and its future.
Diana Orcés, Adjunct Professor of Government, School of Public Affairs, American University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Trump supporters portrayed as the stupidest, most gullible people on earth in merciless column
Trump supporters and protesters gather outside a campaign rally (and accompanying anti-Trump protest) for President Trump and US Senate candidate Martha McSally. (Eric Rosenwald / Shutterstock.com)
A Trojan horse threatens to turn America into a puppet nation — and it's inside the gates
As a veteran, the oath I took to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, did not come with an expiration date. National security is not solely the responsibility of the military or even law enforcement. It begins with ensuring a government of, by, and for the people cannot be bought by the ultra-wealthy or left vulnerable to foreign influence.
A nation whose elected officials are propped up by foreign countries and shadow entities is not a sovereign nation, but a puppet. It is time to cut the strings.
As we mark Constitution Day this Sept. 17, I ask my fellow veterans to put that oath into practice through active civic participation. Take action to stand up for a country that is not run by the highest bidder.
Our nation’s Founders anticipated this exact vulnerability. George Washington called foreign influence “one of the most baneful foes of republican government,” while Thomas Jefferson warned that preserving liberty required constant vigilance against corruption and outside interference.
Unchecked dark money and foreign-backed interests are pouring into our elections, bending public policy toward priorities that do not serve the American public. Veterans, working families, and everyday citizens are being drowned out by massive financial influence from masked donors we cannot match.
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Here in Maryland, State Board of Elections filings reflect the same reality we see nationwide: Out-of-state funding and deep-pocketed donors dominate campaign finance, sidelining Marylanders. But this is not just a Maryland problem, and it is not one that we can solve alone. We need a national response.
According to an Ipsos Poll, Americans across the political spectrum agree that campaign spending is not speech that should be unregulated. Voters overwhelmingly agree that citizens and their elected representatives should be the ones setting the limits, without the Supreme Court sweeping away those protections. In 1976, in Buckley v. Valeo, the Supreme Court determined that spending unlimited money on political campaigns is protected as free speech. In 2010, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission extended that “right” to corporations.
If money in politics is free speech, then most everyday Americans have no voice at all. Billionaires and corporate entities can spend sums in a single cycle that the vast majority of us will never see in a lifetime.
Americans of all political persuasions are uniting behind a clear objective: passing a constitutional amendment that restores the power to regulate election money to Congress and the states. The movement is real, and the moment has arrived.
The For Our Freedom Amendment, championed by American Promise, achieves exactly that by authorizing state and federal oversight of “contributions and spending in campaigns, elections, or ballot measures.” It has been introduced in Congress and needs active support to reach the floor for a vote.
Why is an amendment necessary? There are only two ways to overturn the Supreme Court: Wait for the court to reverse its own precedent, which is not happening here, or use the mechanism we learned about in high school civics, a constitutional amendment. The ultimate check and balance.
This Constitution Day cannot pass without notice. Having pledged our lives to defend this Republic, veterans hold both the standing and the moral obligation to demand a higher standard. We did not serve this country only to watch foreign wealth and billionaire mega-donors choose our leaders for us.
Fellow veterans, we no longer wear the uniform, but our duty is not finished. Our time standing in formations may be over, but our oath to the Constitution never expires. While we served, many of us were unable to be engaged in politics. That time has passed; we are home, and we are still serving, and we cannot do this alone.
Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: info@marylandmatters.org.