Experts reflect on 2024 presidential election results

By Shaneece Flax

One week after the general election on November 5, Houston Ethnic Media held a high-stakes virtual discussion with local thought leaders on the implications of the 2024 presidential election results.

President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed policies, particularly immigration, were emphasized during the November 12 Zoom talk.

Kristin Etter, director of policy and legal services of the Texas Immigration Law Counsel, said the president-elect’s talk of deportation has many across Texas feeling deep fear and anxiety.

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“Anybody that was following the campaign closely will not be surprised that the most concerning aspect of the election and what the future administration will begin to enact in January is the mass deportation campaign that they’ve been talking about,” Etter said.

Kristin Etter, director of Texas Immigration Law Counsel

During the campaign, Trump said on day one that he would have a mass deportation of illegal immigrants in the U.S.

“So, on January 21, this is one of the top priorities in the Trump administration, so I would not be surprised if that was really one of the first actions that we see out of this administration,” Etter said.

Jeronimo Cortina, a political science professor at the University of Houston, expressed some of the same sentiments as Etter.  However, he added that mass deportation could have a dire economic impact.

“The economy right now, especially service economy, agriculture is 100 percent supported by migrant labor,” said Cortina. “It’s going to be different because if you allow those mass deportations, you’re going to be hurting, you know, once again, voters’ pockets in terms of grocery prices and so on.”

Cortina added that there was a shift in the Hispanic vote, particularly males, towards Trump.

“We start with Bush,” said Cortina. “Bush won the Latino vote, and four years later, Latino Voters were voting for President Obama. In this year, they voted for Trump, and it’s just a byproduct of how.”

Dr. Carla Brailey, associate professor at Rice University, said the Trump campaign effectively utilized cable and niche media.

“The standout is that the Donald Trump campaign took a multifaceted approach,” said Brailey. “Combining traditional rallies with extensive media support along with key surrogates. One who stands out the most is Elon Musk, who contributed over $75 million.”

Brailey also pointed out the significant role Texas is likely to play in shaping national policy under the Trump administration.

 “Texas is the pilot study; Texas is ground zero,” she said. “Whatever this administration does will be tested and perfected in the state of Texas, with tremendous impact on girls, families, and women.”

The panelists agreed that the 2024 election results signal significant change, and that Texas will likely have a critical role in shaping policy. However, they stressed that dialogue and diplomacy would be needed to ensure a healthy democracy.

All eyes will be on Washington on January 21 to see whether the Trump administration moves forward with its campaign promises.

Houston Ethnic Media is an organization focuses on issues in city’s underserved communities.