Javier Villalobos, the Democratic governor of McAllen, Texas, expressed concern that President-elect Donald Trump’s approach on illegal immigration could cause financial harm to the United States.
The mayor expressed support for Trump’s plan to second deport violent criminals who have entered the country illegally, but he was concerned that many of the potential deportees are “productive” workers who are contributing to “our economy remain strong.
” I’ve always said it: There’s a lot of people that can be very effective, and we should try to help them travel around and make for us and help their families”, Villalobos said during a subsequent interview with WFAA, a native Texas news outlet. ” Then, if it’s people that have issues, legal or otherwise, therefore we surely don’t want that. However, I am aware of many individuals who can support us and keep our economy strong.
Villalobos became president of Hildago County’s majority-Hispanic town of McAllen, which lies in the Rio Grande Valley, a frontier hot position, over three years ago, marking a dramatic social change in the once-impenetrable Democrat bastion. Participates is the city’s first registered Republican president elected in this era.
In his most recent interview, the president said that” the labor attitude of the American people is not what it once was.” He also echoed some of Trump supporter Vivek Ramaswamy’s concerns about stupidity in U.S. society. In contrast to Ramaswamy, who argued that “lazy” social trends may be reversed to resurrect the country’s labor, Villalobos favored allowing some deported illegal immigrants to continue filling the nation’s labor gap.
The governor said,” You have people who are successful, who are currently workers, who businesses need to develop or assist them in whatever capability that will influence a lot of the times.” I’ve said before that the British people’s work ethics is not what it once was, and that I’ve seen it repeatedly that” these immigrants are the ones who help” in many cases.
Participates said he did not believe Trump’s mass deportation effort may have a” significant” impact on his neighborhood because so many illegal immigrants quickly move through his city to find better-paying work. He noted, however, that the president-elect’s threat to impose huge tariffs on Mexico and Canada if the nations don’t tighten border security measures may harm the native economy’s attractive import and export ecosystem.
According to Villalobos,” the state of Texas conducted a study of the traffic flow through the Rio Grande Valley.” Trucks that pass through this area will be present throughout the entire US in a few days. They’re delivering. They go ahead and do whatever they need to do. So, I know that if things were to slow down, it won’t just slow down the Rio Grande Valley, it will slow down, I think, the whole economy”.
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In the mayor’s county over the past four years, enthusiasm for the president-elect has increased significantly in the mayor’s county despite Villalobos ‘ objections after he takes office in January 2025.
During the 2024 presidential election, Trump flipped Hildago County red, improving his performance among voters by 10 percentage points compared to his 2020 showing, according to NBC exit polls.
