{"id":174683,"date":"2026-02-21T21:36:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T21:36:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/174683\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T21:36:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T21:36:07","slug":"james-talarico-says-democrats-can-reclaim-immigration-debate-in-2026-texas-senate-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/174683\/","title":{"rendered":"James Talarico says Democrats can reclaim immigration debate in 2026 Texas Senate race"},"content":{"rendered":"

Texas Republicans have long used immigration enforcement as an issue to win elections and cement their hold on state leadership. James Talarico, who\u2019s running for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Republican John Cornyn, believes 2026 is the year that Democrats can claim the issue as their own.<\/p>\n

To drive the point home, he stood outside the nation\u2019s largest Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Far East El Paso for a news conference Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say this current extremism on immigration is not popular in Texas, and I think the data indicates that,\u201d Talarico said in an interview with El Paso Matters after the news conference. \u201cCertainly, traveling across the state and talking to people across the political spectrum, people are disturbed and angry about what\u2019s happening in this facility right here,\u201d he said of the ICE detention facility known as Camp East Montana.<\/p>\n

Talarico said most Texans and Americans \u201care pro immigrant and pro security.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd in the Democratic Party \u2026 especially during the Biden administration, they saw a party that was pro immigrant and wasn\u2019t very concerned about security. And so they threw them out, they brought in the Republicans, President Trump in particular, and now they\u2019re seeing a party that is pro security and anti immigrant. And so they are looking desperately for leaders who are going to be pro immigrant and pro security at the same time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Talarico, a state representative from north Austin, came to El Paso on Saturday as part of a statewide tour as early voting continues for the March 3 Democratic primary. In addition to the news conference at Camp East Montana, he had a rally at the Fire Fighters Hall on the Eastside and a fundraiser in West El Paso.<\/p>\n

\"\"Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico speaks about election issues during an interview with El Paso Matters in his campaign bus on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (Corrie Boudreaux\/El Paso Matters)<\/p>\n

His main rival for the Democratic nomination, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Dallas, is scheduled to visit El Paso on Sunday.<\/p>\n

The winner of the Democratic primary will face the winner of the Republican primary, whose three main candidates are Cornyn, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt of Houston. Both primaries have become increasingly charged as the election draws closer.<\/p>\n

ELECTION 2026 VOTER GUIDE: Everything you need to know about the March 3 primary elections in El Paso<\/a><\/p>\n

Talarico said El Paso has long been special to him, because he came to visit his grandparents when he was a child. He said his grandfather, Jimmy Causey, was a preacher, and his grandmother, Betty Causey, was a teacher, both occupations he later pursued.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just remember the long trip in the car from Austin to El Paso, and I remember thinking this was such a magical place,\u201d Talarico said. \u201cI had never seen mountains before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Talarico said it\u2019s important that political leaders look out for El Paso and other communities that haven\u2019t always shared in Texas\u2019 economic gains.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot just have economic activity and prosperity in the big cities and the big suburbs. That is unsustainable, and so it\u2019s why I\u2019m spending so much time on the border, why I\u2019m spending so much time in rural communities across the state, because I want them to know that as U.S. senator, I\u2019m going to use every tool in my toolbox to promote economic development to attract businesses,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Talarico also said he would put a district office in El Paso, the state\u2019s sixth-largest city,\u00a0 something no Texas senator has done since Phil Gramm retired in 2001.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think Seth Krasne would let us get away with not having one here,\u201d he said of his campaign manager, a 2015 graduate of Coronado High School.<\/p>\n

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