Cristela Alonzo weighs in on why the Rio Grande Valley voted for Trump
Alonzo said Republicans gained influence in South Texas “through the church,” an observation echoed by political organizers in the region.
Actress and stand-up comedian Cristela Alonzo appeared on “The Daily Show” last week, days after the release of her latest Netflix special, “Upper Classy,” which the Los Angeles Times called her most personal and political work to date. As a Mexican American, Alonzo's comedy centers on her upbringing in San Juan, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley, where she was raised by a working-class immigrant mother.
Alonzo now lives in Los Angeles, one of the cities where the Trump administration has deployed National Guard and military personnel, including active-duty Marines, to support Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. In September, the Supreme Court upheld ICE’s authority to stop people there based on "apparent ethnicity" and whether they speak English, while a lawsuit challenging the policy moves forward.
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Hola, amigos! My name is Pablo De La Rosa. I'm an independent journalist based in the Rio Grande Valley, and Across The Americas is my newsletter — for and about the Texas-Mexico borderlands and the people who make their lives here.
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Across The Americas focuses on bringing our readers nonpartisan, public-service coverage of regional and binational issues important to the people who live here.
This year, I've reported on grassroots political organizing, the environmental concerns on both sides of the border arising from industrial projects, the water crisis on the Rio Grande, and the effects that the Trump administration's policies are having on hundreds of thousands of people in the Rio Grande Valley.
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About Across The Americas
Across The Americas is the newsletter of independent journalism from the Rio Grande Valley, covering the Texas-Mexico region and the deep roots its people share across the continent.
Join four-time award-winning journalist Pablo De La Rosa as he reports on the global forces shaping these regional communities today.
Pablo's voice has appeared on NPR, MSNBC, Texas Public Radio, The Border Chronicle, The Texas Standard and Lighthouse Reports documentaries. In 2022, Pablo helped launch and host the first daily Spanish-language newscast in public media for Texas, broadcasting from the Rio Grande Valley for San Antonio’s NPR member station.
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