Support for President Trump’s handling of immigration has fallen to its lowest level since he returned to the White House last year, according to a new survey.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll, released this week, found that 38 percent of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda, a 2-point drop from about a month ago. His approval rating on immigration peaked right at 50 percent in March of last year.
Another 55 percent of respondents said they disapprove of his policies, the survey shows.
The results mark the latest sign that the campaign issue that helped to deliver him back to the Oval Office could become a liability as the 2026 midterms approach.
Voters’ frustration is largely reflected in the polling of men, according to Reuters, which indicated that support among that demographic dipped in recent weeks. The latest survey showed Trump’s approval rating on immigration at 41 percent among men, compared to it hovering around 50 percent throughout last year.
Men, especially young men, represented a key voter group for Trump in the 2024 presidential election. Pew Research data indicated that the president made significant gains with the voting bloc under 50, a group that backed former President Biden by 10 points in 2020.
The tactics being used by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to execute Trump’s sweeping deportation agenda have also come under intense scrutiny, following the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens during immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis last month. Concerns have also mounted about the number of U.S. citizens and children reportedly being swept up in DHS raids.
Nearly two-thirds of Americans said in an Ipsos poll conducted in late January that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had gone “too far” in its efforts to deal with illegal immigration.
White House border czar Tom Homan announced last week that Operation Metro Surge had concluded in Minnesota but insisted that agents could “come back” if the situation changes.
That same Ipsos poll also found widespread agreement on the importance of conduct and training standards for federal immigration officers, a central issue in Democrats’ demands for reform within DHS.
Republicans and Democrats appear no closer to reaching an agreement that would fund DHS and end the partial government shutdown, which stretched into its fifth day on Wednesday. Senate Democrats, however, issued another counteroffer to the White House on Tuesday.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted Feb. 13-16 among 1,117 U.S. adults. It has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
