U.S. Senate — Texas
Border & immigration
Federal border security, ICE priorities, asylum processing, and pathways to legal status.
Why it matters: Senate votes shape immigration law, funding, and how enforcement works at the Texas border.
Continuum: Maximize enforcement and physical barriers (−2) ↔ Pair security with pathways and ICE limits (+2)
Ken Paxton
RepublicanCoded position: -2
As attorney general and Senate candidate, emphasizes hardline border enforcement; endorsed by the National Border Patrol Council and frames immigration crackdowns as a core priority.
James Talarico
DemocratCoded position: 1
Supports hiring more Border Patrol agents and immigration judges, modernized surveillance, focusing ICE on criminals/traffickers, pathways for long-term residents and DREAMers, and opposing a wall through Big Bend National Park.