Texas congressional candidate says Hispanics are an important part of the 'America First' movement

GOP candidate for the 12th District of Texas, John O'Shea, says that Hispanic voters are a very crucial part of the "America First" movement, specifically in the Lone Star State. 

"I lived in South America for a number of years..... I mean you won't find a more culturally conservative group of people than Hispanics and Latinos...... especially here in Texas," O'Shea said on the "Just the News, No Noise" TV show. He added that his campaign slogan is "God, Family, Country," saying that those pillars are core to Hispanic values.

"They see the onslaught from the left just constantly attacking those three core beliefs of ours," O'Shea said. "So I mean....I think fundamentally they just should be in this America First movement, and I can't see them supporting this crazy left agenda."

In 2022, Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke blamed President Joe Biden for Hispanics potentially losing some of its voters to the GOP. Former President Donald Trump and Joe Biden are competing for the Latino vote in the upcoming 2024 election. 

According to CBS News, Latino voters have helped Republican candidates with victories in South Texas and South Florida between 2020 and 2022. Latin Americans in South Florida have leaned right for decades, being made up of a large contingency of people forced to flee Castro's totalitarian Cuba.

A poll conducted by the outlet in late February showed that support for Biden among Latino voters has decreased 12 points since 2020, dropping from 65% to 53%. While Democrats still seem to have support from a majority of Latinos, the GOP is making some gains.

While illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border is a huge discussion point in U.S. politics, O'Shea says that there are no prouder patriots than Latino immigrants who came to this country legally.

"I assure you, there are no prouder patriots than those of Hispanic and Latino descent who immigrated to our country legally," he said. "They understand the price that it requires to be a citizen, and they are very proud patriots who hate the destruction they are witnessing in their communities and in this country overall."

Over 189,000 migrants arrived at the southern border just in the month of February.