OPINION: Turning Point USA spreads conservative message at TAMIU
By Alyssa Guajardo
Former Staff Writer
Published Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026
The Republican and conservative organization Turning Point USA began in recent years at Texas A&M International University. Following last semester’s assassination of far right voice Charlie Kirk, the organization gained more attention.
This organization’s main goal is to spread the belief that America is the greatest nation on Earth, also called nationalism. As stated on their Instagram page, “Our mission is clear: to advance the values of freedom, limited government and individual responsibility.” TPUSA also developed strong and lasting relationships with the Webb County Republicans and state officials who share conservative perspectives.
While this sounds like an organization just spreading their views, there is an issue. One of the main issues is the fact that some students aren’t aware of the organization; those who do know, or are now hearing about it, have concerns.
“Why would there be any concerns about an organization?” you might ask. Well for starters, TAMIU is located in Laredo, not just any Texas town, but a border town. Laredo also isn’t just any border town; more than 95% of its approximately 256,000 residents identify as Hispanic or Latino, according to the U.S. Census Bureau data for 2025-2026.
Many TAMIU students come from Hispanic households, so it often raises concerns. Because of this, some wonder why there’s an organization for conservatives. While Laredo is a border town, TAMIU is also an international university with students from different cultures, races and religions, which are respected around the campus.
In reality, this organization isn’t troubling anyone considering TAMIU students and staff have various beliefs and values, so the organization should be allowed to do as they believe, whether or not it makes people upset. There are many TAMIU clubs and organizations people aren’t interested in because they don’t like what the organization offers. Turning Point USA should be treated the same.
As a person who stands for rights to every race, gender and sexuality, it isn’t my issue to deal with the program even if the club goes against some of my own views. Not only should any organization be allowed to exist, but if we go against their creation, we are going against our rights as U.S. citizens. We shouldn’t force an organization to stop because we don’t like what they are doing or saying.
Overall, TAMIU has students and organizations with different beliefs and views on specific topics, including politics. There shouldn’t be a question as to why this organization was created. We shouldn’t force our views on them because it would be hypocritical for us to say they are forcing their views on us, while we are commenting on theirs.
