Poll: Immigration

This Navigator Research report covers the latest on President Trump’s handling of immigration, ICE, and the partial federal government shutdown.

Americans Still Think Trump And Republicans In Congress Are More Focused On Immigration Than The Cost Of Living

Americans overwhelmingly list economic issues, including inflation and the cost of living (56%) and jobs and the economy (46%) as their top priorities – though only 21% and 22% say President Trump and Republicans in Congress are focused on those issues, respectively. 71% say that President Trump and Republicans in Congress are focused on immigration, a priority only 31% of Americans list in their top five.

Net approval of Trump’s handling of immigration has continued to fall from -3 in June 2025 to -17 today (40% approve – 57% disapprove). Similarly, net support of Trump’s mass deportation plan has fallen from +10 in January 2025 to -14 today (40% support – 54% oppose).

Americans View ICE Unfavorably, See Enforcement As Too Aggressive

Three-in-five (60%) Americans are now unfavorable towards ICE, reaching its highest unfavorability since Trump took office this term.

Similarly, 62% of Americans say ICE has been too aggressive in its approach, compared to just 22% who say it has struck the right balance and 11% who say ICE has not been aggressive enough.

Awareness Of DHS Shutdown Lower Than Last Fall’s Government Shutdown, But Americans Blame Trump and Republicans In Congress

61% of Americans have heard, read, or seen information about the current partial government shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Awareness is notably low among independents (52% have seen some or a lot about the shutdown) and passive news consumers (47% have seen some or a lot about the shutdown).

By a 19-point margin, Americans blame Trump and Republicans in Congress (48% blame) for the current shutdown over Democrats in Congress. However, 24% say they blame both groups equally.

But, Americans support the shutdown in service of getting the changes they want to see to ICE: 58% of Americans – including 65% of independents – think that Congress should withhold funding from ICE until it changes its approach, even if that means shutting down DHS. Just 34% support reopening DHS by continuing to fund ICE as it currently operates.

Similarly, a majority (58%) say they would not support an elected official who voted to continue funding ICE after the deadly shootings in Minneapolis by federal immigration agents, compared to just 32% who would support the elected official. The gap was even more pronounced among independents (23% support – 61% not support).

Americans Aware Of ICE In Minneapolis, But Aren’t As Aware Of Other Troubling Immigration-Related News

An overwhelming majority of Americans have heard about the deployment of ICE to Minneapolis and elsewhere (80% heard at least some) and the subsequent shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents (78% heard at least some).

Many fewer Americans have heard about other immigration-related news, including the detention of five-year-old Liam Ramos (54% heard at least some), dire conditions in migrant detention centers (47% heard at least some), and the federal government spending billions to convert warehouses to ICE detention centers (49% heard at least some). Awareness of these news stories was much lower among passive news consumers, with none of these stories garnering more than 38% awareness among them.

News About Immigration Continues To Concern Most Americans

Despite this familiarity gap, Americans are deeply concerned about these stories when they hear about them. At least six-in-10 Americans are concerned about all of the stories mentioned. The story eliciting the most concern was the one Americans knew the least about: Dire conditions at migrant detention centers, including contaminated food, measles outbreaks, and even deaths (47% aware – 68% concerned).

An Immigration Positive Moves More Than Just The Negative

A message explaining Democrats in Congress’ own agenda worked marginally better than one only hitting Republicans in Congress’ agenda (62% agree – 59% agree).

Both the agenda message and the negative-only message moved Americans to trust Democrats in Congress’ immigration agenda more than President Trump and Republicans in Congress’ immigration agenda.. The message with Democrats’ vision moved trust on immigration 9 points while the negative-only message moved people 7 points towards Democrats’ agenda.