Six months into the Trump administration’s efforts to carry out the largest mass deportation effort in U.S. history, a new poll shows that the American public is once again warming to immigration.
A sustained increase in migrants crossing the southern border starting in 2021 had stirred anxiety and anger across the United States, and public support for immigration plunged as Donald J. Trump made the issue the centerpiece of his campaign to return to the White House.
But in the past year, Americans have grown less negative about the issue, with the share of those wanting to see immigration decrease now totaling 30 percent, compared to 55 percent in 2024, according to the
new survey, conducted by Gallup
, a polling organization. A record high of adults in the United States — 79 percent — now believes immigration is a “good thing” for the country.
The results are in line with other recent surveys that suggest attitudes on immigration may be shifting as Mr. Trump has intensified efforts to
detain and deport
people.Illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border, which began dropping last year under President Biden, are now at their
lowest level in decades
, and major cities like New York are no longer struggling to
care for large numbers of migrants
. At the same time, people in many communities — large and small, urban and rural — are seeing immigrant relatives, friends and neighbors taken away by federal agents.
Still, immigration remains an area where Mr. Trump receives some of his strongest approval ratings. Gallup pollsters said Mr. Trump’s “swift and visible” response had allayed concern among some Republicans, which in turn shifted overall American sentiment on immigration back to where it was before migration levels climbed to record heights.
“We went through a period of irregularity in attitudes on immigration, and now we are just getting back to a normal,” said Lydia Saad, Gallup’s director of U.S. social research. But where pollsters are still seeing partisan friction, she added, are with the Trump policies.
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