Talarico talks about immigration at TribFest 2026

This article was originally written by Mia Valeria Sifuentes on September 25, 2026 and translated to English.

Editor’s note: Some interviews for this article were done in English and then translated into Spanish: its content has remained unaltered.

“We know that this is a nation of immigrants. You wouldn’t be interviewing a guy with the last name Talarico if this was not a nation of immigrants,” said James Talarico during “TribFest”, the annual festival of The Texas Tribune.

TribFest, which takes place every year during the fall, invites more than 250 speakers, varying from politicians, professors, government officials and authors. This year they invited James Talarico, who attracted a large audience, to talk about his campaign, obstacles, and most importantly, the midterm elections that will take place on November 3rd.

Texas is a state that has turned into what political scientists have called a purple state throughout past elections according to Purple States of America. In that regard, Talarico emphasized at the beginning of the event the importance of convincing republicans to cross their political lines and vote for him. “[The voters] got to be democrats, independents, republicans. It’s also got to be people who are fed up and disillusioned with this political system,” said Talarico.

According to polls from the Texas Politics Project from UT Austin, immigration is one of the most important issues for voters nowadays in the state as we approach the elections.

The moderator of the event, Matthew Watkins, asked him about hypothetical situations if he were to become a senator for the state. One of the questions was about a possible compromise on immigration. Talarico shared his optimistic vision, seeing the current crisis as a pathway to a compromise.

“I think the current crisis, with masked men and unmarked vehicles, killing people on our streets, my prayer is that this crisis will actually lead to us finally passing comprehensive immigration reform in this country,” said Talarico.

Afterwards, they presented another hypothetical situation where they introduce a compromise that maintains border security at the southern border in a similar way that the Trump administration does, along with a pathway to citizenship. 

Talarico shared his willingness to work with the other side to maintain security at the border, provide legal pathways for immigrants, and create a pathway to citizenship.

“We don’t have to pick between those things. We can have a system that keeps out people who mean to do us harm, and welcomes folks who want to contribute to this nation. That is absolutely possible, and I think we can pass it if we build the political will to get it done.” said Talarico.

Finally, Talarico emphasizes that the people of Texas deserve better and need a senator that represents the people, not just political parties. He hopes that Texas can maintain hope for a better future.

“We can build a new kind of politics that brings people together, that delivers for working families in this state, and leads us to a better, brighter future,” said Talarico.

The Texan en Español has reached out to Ken Paxton’s political campaign–Talarico’s republican candidate for the senate seat—on immigration issues. We are waiting for a response.

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