Washington, DC — Last night, President Trump delivered a longwinded, out-of-touch, and tone deaf State of the Union address replete with mistruths that seemed to ignore the priorities of the American majority. On immigration, Trump’s lurid depictions of immigrants as criminals, ugly racial attacks on “Somali pirates” and bold-faced lies about illegal voting in 2024 were each ripped from his favorite old playbook – ignoring entirely how much the ground has shifted on immigration public opinion. Strong majorities of Americans reject the violence, cruelty and chaos inherent to the Trump and Stephen Miller mass deportation agenda and are calling for a different vision on immigration and the broader misplaced priorities of this administration embodied by their anti-immigrant crusade.
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger, meanwhile, seemed laser focused on the real concerns of the country and anchored much of her response on affordability and economic issues. However, Governor Spanberger didn’t shy away from addressing immigration, including noting: “Our president has sent poorly trained federal agents into our cities where they have arrested and detained American citizens and people who aspire to be Americans … Our broken immigration system is something to be fixed, not an excuse for unaccountable agents to terrorize our communities.”
According to Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice:
“President Trump has further isolated himself from the real needs of the American people. Instead of speaking to the American majority last night, President Trump threw red meat to his dwindling number of supporters and ignored the priorities and clear preferences of the majority of Americans. The contrast with the clear-eyed vision articulated by Gov. Spanberger on immigration, the economy and affordability, was striking. The Governor spoke for the needs of the majority of Americans; the President for a shrinking base of support. This is the clearest indication yet that underscores why this Presidency and his party are rapidly losing political altitude.”
Reminders About the Misplaced Priorities of Trump’s Mass Deportation Campaign
- As pollster G. Elliott Morris noted after the SOTU address, “Donald Trump delivered his State of the Union address last night to a country that thinks he’s focused on the wrong things.” Morris also wrote of new polling he conducted that, “shows voters wanted to hear less about immigration policy and more about how he’s going to bring down prices … Voters indicate the president is focusing too much attention on deportations, and would redirect government resources to efforts to reduce the cost of housing, food, health care, and Social Security if given the choice.” Read more on new polling and analysis on Substack: “New poll: Voters would pause deportations to lower housing, food prices.”
- Read “The State of the Immigration Debate Ahead of the State of the Union Address” from America’s Voice Executive Director Vanessa Cárdenas on Substack. She writes, “Americans are revolting against their agenda and its misplaced priorities: spending record amounts detaining and deporting children, building mass detention centers across the country and unleashing masked agents in our neighborhoods while families struggle to afford basic necessities … Americans are saying NO to Trump’s cruelty and YES to common sense solutions such as controlling our border and legalizing their friends, neighbors, and coworkers. They want an alternative to the cruelty, violence and chaos. And while the most immediate priority must be reigning in out-of-control ICE and CBP, we must also work towards broader change.”
- Read the America’s Voice fact sheet: “Brutality, Chaos, and Cruelty: The Verdict on Trump’s Mass Deportation Machine,” detailing what you need to know about the reality of immigration enforcement and how the Trump administration has chosen an anti-immigrant campaign led by mass deportation over investing in American families – prioritizing ideological cruelty while gutting healthcare, food assistance, and undermining public trust, confidence and safety.
