Is immigration the ‘No. 1’ issue in DFW? We asked North Texans what they care about

Immigration and border security are top issues for many North Texas candidates, but when you look at what residents care about most, other issues are often front of mind.

Dozens of residents interviewed by the Star-Telegram pointed to policies and concerns related to the economy, taxes, health care, education and affordable housing when asked about their concerns.

Immigration also came up, but not to the same degree as it does among politicians, with some North Texas residents calling the issue a distraction.

“It’s a big pomp and circumstance to hide from real issues that are going on,” said Troy Luchsinger of Burleson.

Immigration and border security have been a top issue in this year’s primary elections, including in North Texas, where candidates have made the issue a key talking point in their pitches to voters.

For 69% of state legislative and congressional candidates in contested primaries surveyed by the Star-Telegram ahead of the March primaries, border security and immigration ranked among their top three policy priorities. That number is even higher when looking at Republican candidates, where 91% listed immigration and border security as one of their top three issues. Fifteen percent of Democrats included immigration and border security.

Fort Worth is 400 miles from the Texas-Mexico border, but candidates say there are still day-to-day impacts on the area, including crime and the availability of fentanyl. The issue is among the top concerns brought up by potential voters on the campaign trail, Republican candidates said.

Tarrant County GOP Chair Bo French called illegal immigration “the No. 1 issue for Tarrant County citizens.”

“Under Joe Biden’s failed leadership, every town is a border town,” French said, responding to written questions.

David Cruz, the national communications director for LULAC, pushed back on the idea that immigration is the top issue for people, calling it a “divisive political narrative.” He said the top issues for Latinos and many other communities are public safety, access to quality public education and access to affordable health care.

“Even those who have visited the border don’t see the invasion that they refer to,” he said. “Instead they see, yes there are days that are better than others, but again for working people in Tarrant County, Fort Worth and the metro area, just like any place else in Texas today, the No. 1 issue is jobs, putting food on the table, paying the bills.”

Issues on the minds of North Texans

Republicans see the border as a winning issue this election season, said Cal Jillson, an SMU political science professor.

Debates around immigration have been high-profile in Texas in recent months, as the state and federal government clashes over border security policies and as a new law that would make it a state crime for a person to enter the country illegally ping-pongs through the courts.

“The perennial issues for Texas voters and beyond are the economy, and in schools and health care,” he said. “But the border has become an issue just as important as any of those for conservatives and increasingly, even for other voters, over the last several years,” he said.

The Star-Telegram spoke with or received written responses from more than 50 area residents about issues important to them. Some of their concerns included a “broken” political system, education, tax rates, affordable housing, homelessness and infrastructure for things like roads and water.

Luchsinger of Burleson said he cares about property taxes and governmental budgets, socialized health care and “corruption” in political parties.

Jacob Dally of Haltom City wants more affordability for programs like Medicaid, better costs of living and decreased inflation.

Denitra Hammick, who lives in Fort Worth and has two children in middle school in Fort Worth, cares about education. Schools are understaffed, she said, also raising concerns about curriculum and academic preparedness.

Julie Shaw of Fort Worth is interested in women’s rights and health care.

Joe Lafko, who lives in the Fairmont neighborhood of Fort Worth and worked as the district director for Republican U.S. Rep. Roger Williams about a decade ago, said infrastructure and crime are top of mind. He’d like to see more support and response from the city and police. He also raised concerns about homelessness and the city’s response.

“I have a big heart and I want to help people, and we do, but at the same time it doesn’t really look like there’s a meaningful push from the city and ... the municipal area to come up with a meaningful solution to address the vagrancy issue or even just homelessness in general,” Lafko said.

On a state level, social issues are a priority, as well as infrastructure and transportation as North Texas grows, Lafko said.

He doesn’t hear immigration come up among neighbors. He sees it as more of a political talking point.

“It’s one of those issues that, it hypes people up, but when it comes down to brass tacks about it, there’s certain things that we can do from a state perspective, and there’s certain things that the federal government has to do,” Lafko said. “That’s the law. That’s how things are supposed to work.

“Now, I understand that our governor and our state legislature see things differently, and that’s fine, but up here it’s not an issue. Like on a person to person level in the neighborhood, the way people see things up here, it’s not something that people, it’s not something that people are, you know, certainly not going house to house talking about. Not at all.”

That’s not to say immigration and border security didn’t come up as an important issue. More than a dozen people brought the topic up in interviews or written responses as a policy important to them.

For Brody Grasher, a TCU sophomore, the economy — particularly lowering taxes and keeping a free market — and the Texas-Mexico border are top priorities. It’s obvious that the border is open and solutions aren’t coming from the White House, he said. That can create a ripple effect when it comes to safety for North Texas, he said.

“Those two probably affect me the most,” Grasher said.

What Fort Worth-area candidates say about immigration, border

Republican candidates who are in the May 28 runoffs maintained that immigration and border security are a top, if not the top, priority. They regularly hear from potential voters on the campaign trial who say the same, they said.

The first thing Jace Yarbrough, a Republican candidate in Senate District 30, asks potential voters when door knocking is what issues matter to them, he said. Yarburogh is in a primary runoff with Republican Brent Hagenbuch for the district that spans much of Denton and Parker counties.

He holds up a list of issues that matter to him — roughly 15 items that include property taxes, the economy, education and the border.

“It’s unusual for someone not to say that the border is their first priority,” Yarbough said.

Hagenbuch said he regularly hears about border security and immigration on the campaign trail when talking with sheriffs and potential constituents at meet and greets and town halls.

“It comes up as a topic very early on in discussion every time, almost,” he said.

State Rep. Craig Goldman, a Republican running for Congressional District 12, put it this way when asked how often the subject comes up while campaigning: “Daily, hourly, almost to the second.”

Border security is top priority he said.

“That’s No. 1,” Goldman said. “Hands down. There’s no question about it. Until we stop illegal immigrants coming across the borders every single day, it has to be our top priority.”

His primary runoff opponent, John O’Shea, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

French, who chairs the Tarrant County Republican Party, said Republican voters want immigration laws enforced, the border wall built, and for those who enter the country illegally to be sent back to the country they immigrated from.

“It affects our schools where we are currently educating thousands of illegal aliens for free, it affects our county hospitals where illegal aliens receive treatment on taxpayers’ dime, and it has a huge effect on public safety,” French said.

U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, a Fort Worth Democrat, said immigration is brought up in his district when it comes to inefficiencies in the system.

“Immigration is a huge issue in the district, mainly for families upset with the broken system that we have, which leads to a lot of the issues that we see at the border,” he said, later adding that “there is no such thing as border security without fixing the problems with our broken system.”

His district covers Fort Worth east of Interstate 35W, parts of the north side and parts of western Dallas County.

He expressed support for the immigration bill from Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma. The legislation was opposed by Donald Trump and killed in the Senate in February. Republicans want “chaos” at the border because it’s good for them politically, Veasey said.

Cruz, with LULAC, said migrant labor is a significant contributor in areas like construction, service industries and in jobs “American citizens simply don’t want or cannot or will not do at the same price.”

Asked about concerns raised by candidates about crime and drugs in the community, he said the organization supports working with members of Congress to come up with a bipartisan bill to address immigration reform. He also said the consumption of drugs must be addressed and pointed out that drugs are often brought in through legal points of entry.

“The only way to stop the cartels from profiting on human trafficking, which is what much of this now represents, is to have laws that will protect border safety, but at the same time not deny people who lawfully have the right to apply for asylum, lawfully and historically, not to deny them that opportunity.”

John McQueeney, who is running against Cheryl Bean in the Republican primary runoff for House District 97, recalled a conversation he had with a buddy who questioned why border security matters in North Texas.

McQueeney asked the friend, who lives outside of town, how fast he can drive on county roads. The friend replied that he could go 120 mph without seeing a state trooper.

“I said, that right there is an impact of resources being directed to the border,” McQueeney said. “We need the resources in the border, but we are directing resources that would otherwise be in our communities if the border was taken care of properly.”

The Star-Telegram sent questions to Bean at her request, but she did not comment.

Republican state Rep. Stephanie Klick said border security and immigration are “up there at the top” of her list of priorities, raising concerns about fentanyl overdoses and crime. Klick touted legislative funding for border security and expressed support for an operations base in the Eagle Pass area to house DPS and Texas National Guard members when in the area for detail.

Other top priorities for Klick, who is a nurse, include health care accessibility and affordability, she said.

David Lowe, who is facing Klick in a primary runoff, said border security is his top priority, followed by election integrity and lowering and eventually eliminating property taxes.

He wants a Border Protection Unit and to eliminate “all benefits” for immigrants living in the country illegally. That includes “in-state college tuition at tax-payer funded universities” like the University of Texas. Public K-12 school should only be allowed for those in the country legally, Lowe said. He also supports E-Verify for employers and “serious penalties” for employers that hire immigrants living in Texas illegally, as well as shutting down state and commercial traffic from Mexico.

Republican Rep. Lynn Stucky, who is in a runoff against Andy Hopper in House District 64, which covers part of Denton County and all of Wise County, agreed that border security is the top issue he hears about while knocking on doors and is one of his priorities. He’s working on a bill similar to Florida’s House Bill 621, which would strengthen property owner rights against squatters. Stucky’s bill would include provisions for law enforcement that addresses instances when the person squatting is in the country illegally.

Hopper did not return an email seeking comment.

Candidates in Democratic primary runoffs, Michael Braxton, who’s running for Senate District 30, and Carlos Walker, who’s running for House District 97, did not reply to interview requests. Tarrant County Democratic Chair Crystal Gayden was not available for an interview.

Diane Symons, who is in the Democratic primary runoff for House District 97, said immigration isn’t among her top issues, which include education, the economy and equality. Immigrants are needed to help grow the economy, she said.

“We need immigrants,” she said. “Do we need them coming in illegally? No. Should they go through the normal process? Yes. Are we making it harder day by day? Yes.”

Dale Frey, one of the candidates in the Democratic primary runoff for Senate District 30, said the border is important, but doesn’t rank near the top when it comes to his priorities for the district. Top priorities include supporting public schools, fixing the state’s “broken” health care system and water supply.

North Texas is “quite far” from the southern border, he said. He doesn’t see people who are in the country illegally in the district, let alone violence from those individuals, he said.

“I know that right wing media and Fox News claims that it is a tragic event that is happening every single place in Texas, but I do not see that here,” he said.