USA02 August, 20263 min read
AP-NORC Poll Finds Immigration Remains Trump’s Strongest Issue With Republicans
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Immigration remains Trump's strongest issue for Republicans, outperforming economy and Iran. Thirty-nine percent of adults approve of Trump's immigration handling.
Poll Finds Immigration Stays Strong
A new AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found that immigration remains a stronger issue for President Donald Trump than the economy or Iran, even after three people were killed in encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the span of under a week in July. The poll reported that only 39% of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s performance on immigration, down from 49% at the beginning of his second term, while about 8 in 10 Republicans continue to approve of how Trump is handling immigration. The AP-NORC survey also found that about half of U.S. adults say Trump has “gone too far” on deporting immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, and Roughly half — 47% — say Trump has exceeded his authority when it comes to deporting immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.
Republican support on immigration was described as mostly stable, with the poll saying about 9 in 10 Republicans approved at the beginning of Trump’s second term and that the share has since stayed mostly stable since last summer. James Leatherman, a 68-year-old Republican from San Antonio, backed Trump on immigration and said, “You cannot come in here illegally — you’re breaking the law,”
ICE Enforcement Split Widens
The AP-NORC polling described a sharp split over whether Trump has overstepped, with about half of U.S. adults saying he has “gone too far” on deporting immigrants living in the U.S. illegally and with few Republicans—about 2 in 10 or fewer—saying he has gone too far. In the same poll, Eric Coursen, 76, an independent from Chincoteague, Virginia, said he agreed the U.S. immigration system needed reform but opposed the administration’s enforcement methods and warned, “It’s just overkill.” The AP-NORC results also showed that about half of Americans “strongly” or “somewhat” disapprove of ICE’s approach, while roughly 3 in 10 “strongly” or “somewhat” approve.
The AP-NORC polling further reported that about 6 in 10 Republicans approve of ICE’s approach, compared with about 2 in 10 independents and just 4% of Democrats. The survey tied the controversy to specific enforcement tactics, saying most Americans also believe Trump has gone too far when it comes to using traffic stops to find and arrest immigrants living in the U.S. illegally and sending federal immigration agents into U.S. cities.
Economy and Iran Lag Behind
While immigration remained Trump’s strongest issue for Republicans, the AP-NORC poll said his approval on the economy was low, with about 3 in 10 U.S. adults, 32%, approving of how Trump is handling the economy. The poll reported that this was down from 40% at the start of his second term and noted that during Trump’s first term his lowest approval on the economy was 40% in December 2017. It also said Republicans were more positive on the economy, with Roughly 7 in 10 Republicans—69%—approving of how Trump is handling the economy.
On healthcare, the AP-NORC findings described a different pattern, saying only about 3 in 10 Americans approve of how Trump is handling healthcare, while Republicans’ approval had risen to about 71% compared with 59% in the poll from last year. The polling framed the stakes for the midterms by noting that Democrats kicked off 100 days until the midterm elections last week, with leaders saying they’ll focus on healthcare cuts, in addition to the cost of living and the war in Iran.