A look into how Trump performed among Michigan's Black and Hispanic voters
(CBS DETROIT) — Exit polling data shows a shift in longtime Democratic voting blocs: Black males and Hispanics.
In Michigan, 21% of Black men voted for President-elect Donald Trump; That number climbed to 58% when it came to Hispanic voters of both genders.
"It seems as though they forgot about the working class," Jarrell Smith told CBS News Detroit. "I don't necessarily put all my eggs in anybody's basket, but these days, I'm leaning more towards Republican."
Smith, a west side Detroit native, has voted for Democratic candidates since he turned 18. This year marked the first year he voted red, and his vote is part of the 80,000 votes that gave Michigan to Trump.
Smith said the economy was his largest driving force, and he believes that another Trump presidency will put it "back on track."
He also told CBS News Detroit that immigration played an important role.
"They (Democrats) gave away a lot of the tax dollars," Smith said. "And they continue to give them away to illegal immigrants."
"People think undocumented people don't pay taxes," Jorge Aguilar told CBS News Detroit. "They do pay taxes."
Aguilar works as a server in Detroit's Mexicantown, where thousands of dollars he earns goes to paying taxes.
"It goes to social security and Medicaid," Aguilar said. "I have to pay my taxes like a normal citizen."
That's thanks to the DACA program, which was created in 2012 to give undocumented children brought into the U.S. by their parents the option to work. However, DACA recipients are not allowed to benefit from the safety net programs they pay into and are also not allowed to vote.
"I did not have the privilege of voting," Aguilar said. "I did try to encourage my friends to vote and to vote for Vice President Harris."
However, 58% of Michigan's Hispanic voters cast ballots to see another Trump presidency. Aguilar says it's shocking after the president-elect made campaign promises to deport up to 13 million undocumented immigrants.
"I've been here since I was 2 years old," Aguilar told CBS News Detroit. "I have my family, and that's what I fear the most, to be separated from my family."
