Also watch a recent virtual event discussion about immigration polling and politics, featuring pollsters and experts from Global Strategy Group, Third Way, UnidosUS, and America’s Voice. Find event recording here and press release with speaker quotes here.
Support for President Trump on immigration has declined in recent months. Images of masked ICE agents violently detaining U.S. citizens and longtime residents; business voices highlighting the economic fallout of mass deportation; and the detentions and deportations of Dreamers and other long-settled immigrants are fueling opposition. Latino voters in particular are viscerally opposed to watching the unsparing mass deportations in action.
Yet despite the majority opposition to Trump on immigration and deportations, Democrats and other pro-immigrant policymakers and allies need to earn Americans’ trust that they can credibly deliver on immigration and border security solutions. On this point, there are a growing set of approaches that aim to do that, by presenting an alternative vision on immigration that takes into account the political moment, the policy challenges, and where the majority of the American public is (examples: Dignity Act of 2025, New Democratic Coalition immigration framework, CAP Immigration Framework, Sen. Gallego Immigration Framework and my recent op-ed).
Below are five key takeaways about the current immigration public opinion landscape (with detailed evidence for each of the points in the following pages):
- Trump’s immigration approval is underwater, mass deportation is unpopular and Americans are recoiling
- Legal status for undocumented immigrants is decidedly more popular than mass deportation
- Latino voters are hostile to mass deportations and support a path to citizenship
- Voters still lack trust in Democrats’ handling of immigration. Defining solutions and connecting with Americans’ broader immigration sentiments is key to restoring credibility
- A strong majority of the American public prefers a balanced immigration approach over enforcement-only policy
In summary:
- Americans want to fix our immigration system, including having a secure and orderly border.
- Americans strongly reject Trump’s reckless and harmful mass deportations.
- There is a need in the public debate to address the issue through a balanced approach that connects with the broad majority of the American public.
Point 1: Trump’s immigration approval is underwater, mass deportation is unpopular and Americans are recoiling.An array of recent polls find that President Trump is “underwater” on immigration approval – especially when details about deportations are tested.
- NBC News (Sept. 2025): 57-43% disapproval (43% strongly disapprove, 27% strongly approve) of President Trump’s handling of “deportation and immigration.” The same poll found 53-47% disapproval (38% strongly disapprove, 31% strongly approve) of his handling of “border security and immigration.”
- Fox News (Sept. 2025): 52-47% disapproval of Trump on “immigration” (though 57-43% approval on “border security).
- Reuters/Ipsos (Sept. 2025): 49-42% disapproval of Trump on “immigration”
- CBS/YouGov (Sept. 2025): 51-49% disapproval of “the Trump administration’s program to find and deport immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally” (the same poll in February 2025 found 59-41% support). The Sept. poll also asked if the “deportation program” had “impacted your own local area or community,” finding that 33% said “yes, for the worse,” and 14% said, “yes, for the better,” while the remaining respondents said it hadn’t impacted much.
- AP/NORC (August 2025): 53-44% disapproval of Trump on “immigration” – including 63-30% among Independents.
- Strength In Numbers/Verasight national poll (August 2025): 52-44% disapproval of Trump on “deportations” and 51-46% disapproval on “immigration,” though 51-45% approval on “border security.”
- Gallup (July 2025): 62-35% disapproval of Trump on immigration – with 2:1 disapproval among Americans who feel “strongly” (45% strongly disapprove, 21% strongly approve).
- CNN (July 2025): 58-42% disapproval of Trump’s handling of immigration.
- Quinnipiac (July 2025): 55-40% disapproval of Trump’s handling of “immigration issues”
Polls capture that Trump’s “deportation” agenda is particularly unpopular, especially when details are included:
- Wall Street Journal (July 2025): 51% of respondents said “President Trump’s efforts to deport illegal immigrants have gone too far,” while 23% said “not far enough” and 24% said “about right.”
- CNN: (July 2025): 59% oppose and 23% support “Arresting and detaining undocumented immigrants who have resided in the United States for years with no criminal record.” As CNN polling editor Ariel Edwards-Levy wrote, “That echoes a theme seen in much immigration polling this year — support for immigration enforcement tends to erode when pollsters specify that people without criminal records or longtime residents will be among those affected.”
- Quinnipiac (July 2025): 59-38% disapproval of Trump’s handling of “deportations.” And by a 57-39% margin, voters disapprove of “the way U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE, is enforcing immigration laws.”
- CBS/YouGov (July 2025): By a 51-49% margin, Americans disapprove of the “Trump administration’s program to deport immigrants illegally in the U.S.” In February, the same pollsters found 59-41% support when asking the same question.
Point 2: Legal status for undocumented immigrants is decidedly more popular than mass deportation. Americans consistently prefer a path to legal status instead of mass deportation – and are measurably swinging in favor of legal status in recent months.
- Strength In Numbers/Verasight national poll (August 2025): By a 60-40% margin, respondents prefer to “give most undocumented immigrants in the United States a pathway to legal status” over “deport most undocumented immigrants living in the United States.”
- Fox News (July 2025): When asked about preferred policy for undocumented immigrants, Americans prefer a path to citizenship over mass deportation by a 59-29% margin. The poll offered three options – “deport all illegal immigrants,” “deport only those illegal immigrants who have been charged with crimes but allow others to remain in the U.S. and eventually qualify for citizenship,” or “allow all illegal immigrants to remain,” with the final receiving 11% support.
- Navigator national polling (conducted by GSG/GBAO, July 2025): By a 63-27% margin, Americans prefer, “Having a process by which undocumented immigrants who can pass a background check and have lived in the U.S. since at least 2020 can earn permanent legal status,” over the option of “Mass deportation targeting all illegal immigrants, with the goal of deporting millions of people each year.”
- Gallup (July 2025): 78% of Americans support citizenship for undocumented immigrants, including majorities of all parties. And 85% of Americans support Dreamers’ citizenship, including 71% of Republicans. Gallup also found that by a record high 79-17% margin, Americans think immigration is a “good thing” rather than a “bad thing” for the country.
- Quinnipiac University (June 2025): By a 64-31% margin, Americans prefer giving most undocumented immigrants in the United States a pathway to legal status vs. “deporting most undocumented immigrants in the United States.” In a December 2024 Quinnipiac poll, the margin was 55-36% – a 14-percentage point change in favor of legalization.
- Pew Research (June 2025): By a 65-34% margin, Americans say there “should be a way for immigrants who are currently living in the country illegally to stay legally if certain requirements are met” instead of “undocumented immigrants should not be allowed to stay in the country legally.” Among the two-thirds supporting legal status, a plurality of 36% support a path to U.S. citizenship while 29% support “permanent residency, but not U.S. citizenship.”
Point 3: Latino voters are hostile to mass deportations and support a path to citizenship
- Gallup (July 2025): 9-in-10 Hispanic voters support a path to citizenship, while approximately 8-in-10 Hispanic voters disapprove of Trump on immigration. Among the Hispanic respondents in the Gallup survey, 91% support “Allowing immigrants living in the U.S. illegally the chance to become U.S. citizens if they meet certain requirements over a period of time.” Meanwhile, only 21% approve of Trump’s handling of immigration – meaning nearly 80% disapprove.
- Equis/Data for Progress poll of more than 2,500 registered Hispanic voters (May 2025): “On immigration, Latinos are still security-conscious, but believe Trump has gone too far on deportations … By a wide 66-29 margin they believe Trump’s “actions are going too far and targeting the types of immigrants who strengthen our nation”, ahead of believing his actions are “good and fair… If some people who are not criminals suffer because of it, it’s the price to pay to ensure our safety.” Even 36% of Latinos who voted for Trump in 2024 say he “has gone too far.”
- Bipartisan polling from BSP Research and Shaw & Co (April 2025) released by UnidosUS, UnidosUS, Voces Unidas, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and Climate Power en Acción found that, as UnidosUS noted: “78% of Latino voters believe it is important to deport dangerous criminals, but that President Trump and congressional Republicans should not target long-residing undocumented immigrants without criminal records.”
Point 4: Voters still lack trust in Democrats’ handling of immigration. Defining solutions and connecting with Americans’ broader immigration sentiments is key to restoring credibility (also watch the related discussion with pollsters and experts from Global Strategy Group, Third Way, UnidosUS, and America’s Voice. Find event recording here).
- Wall Street Journal (July 2025): Republicans in Congress are trusted to handle “immigration” over congressional Democrats by a 17-point margin, 45-28%, and by “illegal immigration” by a 24-point margin, 48-24%.
- Fox News (July 2025): When asked, “who would do a better job on immigration,” Republicans are favored over Democrats by a 52-46% margin.
- Third Way national/battleground district polling (released May 2025) found, “Democrats started with a 30-point deficit when voters were asked which party they trusted to handle immigration, which grew to a whopping 41 points when it came to border security specifically. Those numbers clocked in as the lowest trust level on any issue we tested, three times as big as the trust gap on inflation and four times as big as the gap on the economy.” See prior section for tested “balanced” messaging that offered a way forward to start repairing the trust deficit.
- Way to Win and the Valiente Action Fund polling of likely 2026 voters in key Congressional districts (May 2025) offered a deep dive on immigration sentiment that is worth reading in full. Among the takeaways include the finding that Democrats in Congress remain deeply untrusted on immigration, specifically:
- Congressional Democrats are a net-58 point negative among key district voters when asked to gauge how they’re handling immigration: 19% positive and 77% negative. By comparison, congressional Republicans were net 11-points negative (43% positive, 54% negative).
Point 5: A strong majority of the American public prefers a balanced immigration approach over enforcement-only policy
- Navigator national polling (conducted by GSG/GBAO, July 2025): Americans strongly prefer the federal government pursue a balanced approach to immigration – by a 66-25% (including 44-14% among those who feel “strongly”), respondents prefer a “balanced approach that fixes our broken immigration system by focusing on deporting those who have committed serious crimes, while still upholding American values like treating people humanely and ensuring due process as protected in the Constitution. This approach would also allow immigrants who have been working, paying taxes, and following the law to apply for legal status,” over, “Focusing on strict enforcement and mass deportation by having ICE target all immigrants who are here illegally for deportation, with the goal of deporting millions of people each year, while investing in border security, detention centers, and increased enforcement to deter future illegal immigration.”
- Third Way national/battleground district polling (May 2025) found that the following “balanced” message received 79% support and outperformed a typical Trump message by 23 points: “Democrats in Congress say that illegal immigration is a problem. They say we are a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. We need to restore order at the border and urge immigration judges to process cases so we can decide who can come into our country and send home those who are not eligible under US law. We also need to deport illegal immigrants who have been convicted of violent crimes and create pathways to legal status for people who have been contributing to our communities for years and have a US citizen spouse and children.”
- Equis/Data for Progress poll of more than 2,500 registered Hispanic voters (May 2025) found strong support for “balanced” solutions. Per the Equis poll summary:
- “The closest Hispanics get to consensus in this poll is both in (a) support for deporting convicted violent criminals and (b) a belief that mass deportations will punish hard-working people and tear apart families. Enforcement alone is not seen as enough – as is made clear by Trump’s approval rating on immigration and perceptions that his administration has gone too far on deportations. In fact, when forced to rank, only about 1-in-4 Latino voters want Congress to focus on an enforcement-only approach to immigration.”
Based on the above, key lessons are clear:
- Americans want to fix our immigration system, including having a secure and orderly border.
- Americans strongly reject Trump’s reckless and harmful mass deportations.
- There is a need in the public debate to address the issue through a balanced approach that connects with the broad majority of the American public.
