Keyword: Nativism
Why immigration and border security endure as the central axis of Texas Republican politics
For the last decade, no issues have more consistently occupied the consciousness of Texas Republican voters than immigration and border security. Evidence provided by multiple polls, considered in the context of politics and policies pursued by a generation of Texas Republican leadership, illustrates how nativism has become a major animating force in Republican politics in the state. While the term “nativism” carries negative connotations, nearly a decade of public polling data illustrate the pervasiveness of such attitudes among Republican voters, even if the term is likely to be hotly refuted by those whose attitudes and (in the case of public figures) rhetoric and policies make the description demonstrably apt.
Second Reading Podcast: On the structural context of the politics of immigration and border security in Texas
In a new Second Reading Podcast, Jim Henson and Josh Blank consider the broader context of immigration and border security politics _ and why those politics are so persistent.