A new poll (pdf document) released Tuesday by the Texas Lyceum shows that a startling number of Texans--61%--are opposed to a wall on the Mexican border. The same poll indicates that 62% of Texans are opposed to Trump’s mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, and 61% saying that undocumented immigrants should be allowed to study at Texas colleges and pay in-state tuition.
Opposition to the wall is not as surprising as one might think. Reports are that the first section to be be built here would be at Big Bend National Park, since the land is already owned by the government and legal opposition to the wall by landowners elsewhere is likely to be fierce. Texans love Big Bend, and even Governor Abbott, probably thinking of an ugly wall marring the view pictured above, has said “we don’t want see a wall in the beautiful Big Bend National Park.”
More interesting to me is the support for undocumented immigrants. The Dallas Morning News, quoting Texas Lyceum, says that there has been a significant softening of views on immigration, particularly among Latinos, who have traditionally been more conservative here than elsewhere. The increasing numbers of Latinos in this state is almost certainly a factor as well.
The poll was conducted in English and Spanish and included both landlines and cell phones. It should be noted that the sample was of all adults who are citizens rather than of registered voters, which tends to skew it somewhat more liberal. That would seem to be a clear indication of why voter registration and GOTV efforts need to be stepped up in Texas.