When José Pérez Gómez came from Mexico more than 25 years ago, he scraped together money by selling handmade furniture on the streets of Fresno, Calif. Eventually, he turned that hustle into a full-fledged brick-and-mortar business, which allowed him to raise a family and send two daughters to college.
And when Mr. Pérez Gómez, 49, became eligible to participate in his first presidential election four years ago, he voted for Joseph R. Biden Jr. because he was turned off by Donald J. Trump’s negative rhetoric about Latinos and other people of color.
But this time, he said, he voted for Mr. Trump.
Democrats had assumed that Mr. Trump’s threat of mass deportations and harsh words toward migrants would sour Latino voters across the country, especially those with family or friends who were undocumented.
But for Mr. Pérez Gómez, personal economic struggles took precedence. Furthermore, he said, many immigrants in California’s Central Valley actually agreed with Mr. Trump that Democrats had allowed too many people to cross the border with the lure of asylum protections. Friends and relatives had spent decades toiling in the fields and paying taxes with no legal pathway.
“Suddenly in one year, millions of people come in with all the rights without having contributed anything to the country,” Mr. Pérez Gómez said. “So a lot of people feel defrauded.”