100 Days Roundup: New Memo on the Current Polling and Politics of Immigration

New AV polling and political memo, available HERE, details 4 key lessons for those opposing the Trump anti-immigrant agenda; access online version of this press release HERE

Washington, DC — As we move closer to the 100 day benchmark of the Trump administration, America’s Voice is releasing a new memo detailing the current polling and politics of immigration. The memo, “100 Days Roundup: The Current Polling and Politics of Immigration,” synthesizes the findings from polls over the first 100 days of this administration and highlights four key takeaways and lessons for those seeking to offer opposition and an alternative to the Trump administration on immigration.

According to Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice, and as detailed in the new memo:

“As Americans have experienced the first 100 days of the Trump administration, they’ve seen the alarming scope of mass deportations and how the administration’s attacks on immigrants also aim at core pillars of our democracy – such as due process and the separation of powers. It’s little wonder that Trump’s approval ratings on immigration are declining and he has ceded his previous advantages on the issue. Analysis on the politics and public opinion of immigration must acknowledge this current moment, not just what the landscape looked like after the 2024 elections and on Inauguration Day. There are clear lessons on the way forward for those opposing the Trump chaotic and cruel anti-immigrant agenda on how to push back, chart broader solutions, and connect with a strong majority of the American public.”

As detailed in the new America’s Voice memo, below are four key lessons for immigration public opinion, the related politics and the way forward for those seeking to offer opposition and an alternative to the Trump administration on immigration (each explored in detail and with numerous public polls and analysis to substantiate):

1.  Go deeper than the toplines: Support for mass deportation is a mirage. While Trump’s approval ratings are declining on immigration, the public is still fairly divided on whether they approve of his handling of immigration. Yet Trump’s mass deportation agenda becomes wildly unpopular when details are included about who is being targeted and the scope of Trump’s enforcement.

2.    Americans believe deeply in due process and the rule of law. The public is overwhelmingly opposed to the Trump administration’s recent deportations without due process – viscerally opposed to mistaken deportations and related refusals to abide by court rulings.

3.Present an alternative: The American public strongly prefers a balanced immigration approach, pairing border security and a path to legal status, rather than enforcement-only and mass deportation. When offered the choice in polling, a strong majority of the American public prefers a balanced approach to immigration, involving targeted enforcement against criminals, border security and legalization for long-residing undocumented immigrants, instead of Trump’s enforcement-only and mass deportation approach.

4.    Leveraging the backlash: The American public wants their government to fix things, not destroy everything. Trump’s overreach and the above reminders offer a direction for pro-immigration voices to push back, chart broader solutions, and leverage the type of backlash and buyer’s remorse that caused the public to swing sharply in a pro-immigration direction during Trump’s first term.

Read the new America’s Voice memo, “100 Days Roundup: The Current Polling and Politics of Immigration” and be on the lookout for more America’s Voice content assessing the first 100 days of the Trump administration.