A recent AP-NORC poll indicates that President Donald Trump's immigration policies have seen a significant drop in public support.. Only 39% of U.S. adults now approve of his performance in this area, a decline from 49% at the start of his second term.
The 10-point slide in immigration approval
While immigration remains a more successful policy area for President Donald Trump than either the economy or his handling of Iran , the trend is downward. According to the AP-NORC poll, approval for the president's immigration performance fell from 49% to 39% since the beginning of his second term. This suggests that the administration's aggressive posture is failing to expand its appeal beyond a core base.
The decline in immigration support mirrors a broader struggle with other key metrics. For instance, approval of President Donald Trump's handling of the economy has dropped from 40% to 32% over the same period. This suggests a general erosion of confidence in the administration's primary promises, though immigration continues to be the president's strongest relative performer among the three compared issues.
Why 60% of Republicans still back ICE's methods
Despite the general decline, a deep partisan chasm persists regarding the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency... As reported by the AP-NORC poll, approximately 60% of Republicans approve of the approach taken by ICE. in stark contrast, only 20% of independents and a mere 4% of Democrats express approval of the agency's enforcement tactics.
This divide persists even in the face of violent encounters. In July, three individuals were killed during interactions with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in less than a week. For some, like independent voter Eric Coursen of Chincoteague, Virginia, these tactics represent "overkill," comparing the severity of the enforcement to shooting someone for the simple theft of bread.
The 47% who see deportation authority as exceeded
Public sentiment is particularly critical of the specific mechanisms used to remove undocumented immigrants. The AP-NORC data shows that 47% of U.S. adults believe President Donald Trump has exceeded his authority regarding the deportation of immigrants living illegally in the United States. Furthermore, about half of the population believes the president has "gone too far" in restricting legal immigration.
Opposition is even more pronounced regarding the methods of detection and deployment. A majority of Americans believe the administration has overstepped by using traffic stops to identify and arrest undocumented immigrants and by deploying federal immigration agents directly into U.S. cities. While Republicans are less likely to view these as oversteps, the general public increasingly views these specific tactics as an abuse of power.
Why aggressive enforcement hasn't shifted the 50% "too far" threshold
One of the most striking findings in the AP-NORC report is the stability of the opposition. Despite a year of aggressive immigration crackdowns, the number of U.S. adults who believe President Donald Trump has "gone too far" on deportations has remained steady at about 50%. This suggests that the administration's hardline approach has reached a point of diminishing returns, where increased aggression no longer converts skeptics into supporters.
This stability raises questions about the long-term viability of the current strategy. It remains unclear whether the slight dip in Republican approval—from 9 in 10 at the start of the term to 8 in 10 now—is a temporary fluctuation or the start of a fracture within the base. Additionally, the report does not specify which demographic groups are driving the 10-point overall drop, leaving it unknown if the slippage is coming from moderate Republicans or a further hardening of independent opposition.
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