PHOENIX — Of the litany of campaign promises President Donald Trump made on the trail, few caught on with his supporters the way his promises about immigration did. But when it comes to the president’s targeting of undocumented immigrants, the Latino voters who helped catapult the president to victory in 2024 have noticed that the Department of Homeland Security is not only targeting “the worst of the worst.”

Jesús Cardiel, 73, from Surprise, Arizona, said he typically votes Republican because the party most aligns with his beliefs on abortion. Cardiel believes Trump’s immigration crackdown will cost him with Latino voters in these midterm elections.

“Instead of the promise he made to deport only those who were a threat to the people, he’s even deporting people who are completely innocent, and that’s going to affect us at the polls,” he added.

Many Latinos aren’t inclined to vote for him now that the elections are coming up.”

—Jesús Cardiel

Cardiel’s instinct that the president’s immigration crackdown is far from focused on the “worst of the worst,” as the administration likes to describe those it’s rounding up, is borne out by the numbers.

The Deportation Data Project, a joint research venture from UCLA and UC Berkeley, found that as of July 2026, 73.5% of those arrested and booked by Immigration and Customs Enforcement had no criminal convictions. Of the others, 24.8% had been convicted of a nonviolent crime, while only 1.6% of those arrests involved undocumented immigrants convicted of a violent crime, according to the analysis.

But talk to Trump’s MAGA base — like those who waited hours for him to speak at a rally in Bullhead City, Arizona, last Wednesday — and many of them remain smitten with the way ICE raids have been going.

“They’re doing what they need to do,” said Deanne McCarter, 64, a three-time Trump voter from Lake Havasu City, who attended Trump’s rally in Arizona last week. Asked whether she believes ICE has been too aggressive after shooting undocumented immigrants in Austin, Texas, and New York City in recent months, McCarter was convinced they weren’t.

FAFO”

—Deanne McCarter

“FAFO,” said the Trump superfan, using an abbreviation with an expletive that means “[mess] around, find out.” “I mean, I’m sorry, but that’s the way that it is.”

Peggy Miller, a retired nurse and three-time Trump voter from Bullhead City, also expressed no qualms about ICE shooting people in the streets.

It is unfortunate that people are in the wrong place where they should not be.”

—Peggy Miller

“It is unfortunate that people are in the wrong place where they should not be,” said Miller, 67.

“They should not have been doing what they were doing,” she added.

Miller and McCarter’s approval of Trump’s approach to immigration reflects broader trends.

According to an August AP/NORC poll, 8 in 10 Republicans approve of how the president is handling immigration.

But that enthusiasm has disappeared when it comes to the president’s support among the Latino community, which went for the president in historic numbers in 2024.

According to a new NBC News/Telemundo poll from earlier this month, Trump has a  27% approval rate among Latino voters. And 69% of those surveyed disapprove of his handling of immigration.

Unai Cutino is a 45-year-old HVAC employee who voted for Trump in each of the last three presidential elections. Now, he’s got buyer’s remorse.

“I regret it. I had so much hope that he promised so many things, and there’s nothing to show for it,” said Cutino, who is from Phoenix. He said the immigration crackdown, which has swept through Arizona’s capital in recent months, has been “very aggressive.”

This presidency always benefits the powerful, and the poor are left behind.”

—Unai Cutino

“This presidency always benefits the powerful, and the poor are left behind,” Cutino said.

“Many Latinos aren’t inclined to vote for him now that the elections are coming up,” Cardiel warned.

And yet, when asking Trump’s MAGA whether the president is making good on his promise to deport the “worst of the worst,” the MAGA faithful are convinced.

“We see that they’re criminals. I don’t see any other innocent people getting [deported] contrary to what the media, the mainstream media, is trying to make it look like,” McCarter said.

“The left are screaming and kicking, so he must be doing something right,” she added.

The post Trump’s immigration crackdown is driving off Latino voters, as it fires up MAGA appeared first on MS NOW.

From MS Now.