Poll: Trump’s Actions on Civil Liberties and Deportations

This Navigator Research report covers the latest perceptions of the Trump administration’s actions on deportations, as well as findings from focus groups* among Trump voters in Michigan, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania who don’t strongly approve of the job he is doing.

As President Trump claims he “does not know” whether he is required to uphold the Constitution and provide due process, many have asked whether we are approaching a Constitutional crisis. 

Our latest Navigator polling, conducted before Trump’s Meet the Press interview, finds that a majority of Americans believe that Trump does not usually follow court orders (57 percent). A 53 percent majority also believe Trump does not follow Supreme Court rulings.

How people consume information is a big tell on how they perceive Trump’s relationship to the courts:

• Among Republicans alone, there is nearly a 20-point difference between Fox News viewing Republicans and those who do not watch Fox.
• Among Fox Republicans, 69 percent say Trump follows the court orders.
• By contrast, just 50 percent of non-Fox News watching Republicans say the same.

What is clear is that Americans want Trump to follow the law. In focus groups with 2024 Trump voters, most wanted to see him abide by the decisions of the court:

• “If the Supreme Court says that it needs to be done, then I think that there should be an organization out there that should, it’s going to get done.” – NC man, independent, lean Republican
• “He should be held accountable and either do jail time or pay some fine like any one of us would have to. If any regular American, working class citizen would disobey a court order… we would be put in jail or most likely get a high fine.” – PA woman, Independent

Among a list of statements about President Trump’s recent actions, the most concerning focused on Trump defying a unanimous court order from the Supreme Court, meaning there is no check and balance on his power (37 percent).

This comes as Americans say they trust Democrats in Congress more than Trump and Republicans in Congress to follow the Constitution by a 7-point margin (47 percent Democrats – 40 percent Trump/Republicans) and protect the rule of law by a 6-point margin (47 percent Democrats – 41 percent Trump/Republicans).

• On the specific case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, nearly two in three say Garcia should be brought back to the United States, as ruled by the Supreme Court (63 percent). This stands among Republicans, 37 percent say Garcia should be brought back.

In a test of statements, more Americans agree that “regardless of whether any specific person is good or bad, Trump deporting someone without a court hearing is wrong: he is defying court orders and acting like he is above the law” (51 percent) than that “what Trump is doing to crack down on illegal immigration is good: he’s securing the border and removing violent criminals and gang members from the country” (42 percent).

While Trump voters in focus groups acknowledged the border is a problem that they want solved, some lamented Trump’s methods. As a Pennsylvania independent said: “We did elect him [Trump] to keep America safe and to keep gang members out. We didn’t elect him to take people from 15 years ago and take their families and break up their families and just pretty much throw them away and say stupid shit like he’s going to put Americans in jail as he has to pay the other country millions of dollars to do that, which is even, he can’t even do it.”

Another Michigan independent said: “We have due process. And due process when it’s denied for one person, it could be denied for everyone, and that’s [it] period. If you can break the Constitution, what’s to stop us from being a dictatorship?”

Americans’ top concerns center on due process and humane treatment, Trump defying court orders, and defiance of the Constitution:

• Trump sending immigrants who are here legally, with no criminal record, to a maximum security prison meant for violent gang members is cruel. Separating fathers and husbands from their families without court hearings is inhumane and not how America should treat anyone (67 percent concerning, including 53 percent “major” concerns);
• Trump is openly defying rulings from the Supreme Court, including a unanimous Supreme Court ruling against his administration. He thinks he is above the law and continues to openly defy the courts, which are supposed to serve as a check on the presidency (68 percent concerning, including 53 percent “major” concerns); and,
• Trump is threatening to deport U.S. citizens who break the law, which has never been done before and is against the Constitution. If Trump can send anyone he wants to another country in defiance of the Constitution, none of us are safe (67 percent concerning, including 53 percent “major” concerns).