Ronald Reagan once told Hispanic adviser Lionel Sosa that Latinos were Republicans who simply hadn’t realized it yet. Donald Trump’s gains in 2024 showed how much potential there was in that idea. Hispanic voters moved toward Republicans more than many other groups, but in 2026 they swung back sharply, wiping away much of that progress.
Hispanic voters didn’t turn away from faith, family or freedom. Our party gave too many people reason to doubt that we were governing according to those values.
I know rebuilding trust takes work. In 2020, I defeated a Democratic incumbent and turned a congressional district from blue to red. My years as a firefighter, fire chief and mayor taught me that people’s confidence has to be earned through service and results.
Trump made major progress securing the border. His administration restored consequences for illegal entry and supported Border Patrol agents. Federal officials reported historically low crossings and no Border Patrol releases during fiscal year 2026. Republicans had a significant achievement to point to.
But broad, indiscriminate enforcement weakened public support. When longtime, peaceful residents were targeted, attention shifted from dangerous criminals to families living in fear. Democrats were handed an opportunity we should not have given them, and a signature accomplishment became a political burden.
I raised these concerns before the election. Americans wanted violent criminals deported, gangs dismantled and neighborhoods made safer. They did not vote to deport grandmothers who had spent decades raising families and contributing to their communities.
There are practical ways forward. Enforce lawful removal orders while protecting due process. Look at each case individually, weighing a person’s criminal record, family connections, time in the country and contributions to the economy. Congress should create legal pathways for longtime, peaceful contributors, including DREAMers, without weakening border security.
We also had an economic record worth discussing. Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill expanded the child tax credit, established Trump Accounts, offered eligible workers tax relief on tips and added a senior deduction that helps more retirees avoid federal income taxes on Social Security. These measures mattered to Hispanic families, and we should have made that clearer.
We should build on those gains by encouraging American innovation, trimming unnecessary regulations, increasing domestic energy production and helping entrepreneurs expand.
Overseas, we need to finish the job in Iran and ensure its government can never threaten the United States or our allies with nuclear weapons. And America should defend democracy, particularly in our own hemisphere.
Trump’s capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro created an opening for freedom. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s three-stage plan—stabilization, recovery and transition—must lead to a real democratic change of power, with free and fair elections held as soon as possible. In Cuba, we should deliver on Trump’s promise to bring freedom to the Cuban people.
Before 2028, Republicans need to return to our communities, listen and deliver. That sounds simple, but it takes consistent effort.
Faith, family and freedom still matter. We should protect the progress made at the border while bringing greater judgment to enforcement, deliver prosperity and stand up for democracy across our hemisphere. If Republicans do that hard work, we can regain Hispanic voters’ confidence and build a durable coalition for years to come.
