Latina teens clash with Trump-voting parents over mass deportations

Teen Vogue reported that Latina teens are angry that so many of their parents voted for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his policy of mass deportations in the 2024 election instead of supporting Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump’s support increased among all ethnic groups, particularly younger voters. He won 42 percent of the 18-24-year-old vote, a 10-point rise from 2020. Among Latinx voters aged 18 to 29, 47 percent supported Trump, while 49 percent backed Harris, according to Teen Vogue. This indicates that the teens cannot solely blame their parents for abandoning the Democratic Party or voting differently than expected. Overall, only one in 10 Democrats believed the presidential election results were fraudulent.

“I feel I’m smart. My parents call me smart. I mean, I almost have a 4.0 [GPA]. That’s until I’m against them," Crystal told Teen Vogue. "Then, suddenly, it means nothing.” Crystal told Teen Vogue. Crystal’s parents, who immigrated to the U.S. from Cuba, voted for Trump in 2024, as did her grandmother, great-grandfather, a cousin, and an aunt. This frustrates the teen, who was too young to vote in the November 5 election but said she would have supported Harris if she had been eligible.

“You could argue with them for years, and they still wouldn’t think differently,” she said about her parents, explaining that she feels powerless and unable to freely debate politics with them because she is beholden to their authority while living under their roof. She believes her parents’ motivation was to “own a lib.”

“They’re older than me so automatically I’m less-than in an argument,” Crystal told Teen Vogue. “Or they scream their arguments so they don’t have to listen to yours ... It’s like they ask my opinion just to make me feel less-than. Because it’s not like they care, they just want to be right and make you feel bad.”

“Seeing how many people voted for Trump, and the fact that Trump won by such an insane margin [in some places], it really devastated us,” Selena, an 18-year-old who lives in Dallas, told Teen Vogue. 

The magazine expressed disbelief that “Latinx” voters could support Trump, citing his promises to secure the border, deport illegal immigrants, and what the publication described as "viciously racist rhetoric," "lies," and "right-wing talking points and misinformation."

Trump won 50 percent of the Latino vote, a 10-point increase from 2020. Additionally, about one in three voters of color supported him.