AMERICANS are split over whether they approve of President Trump’s administration’s immigration policies, which have led to raids, mass arrests, and huge protests in recent weeks.
A survey by the Pew Research Center, conducted earlier this month, found that, overall, the Trump administration’s approach to immigration is viewed more negatively than positively, with 47 per cent disapproving and 42 per cent approving.
When asked about specific policies, people were even more narrowly divided.
Fifty per cent of Americans said that they approved of sending in state officers to support federal deportation efforts, as has happened in Los Angeles since the poll was carried out, where federal troops were called in to suppress mass demonstrations against immigration raids.
But other areas of the administration’s crackdown on immigration are less popular: 60 per cent disapprove of the administration’s suspension of applications for asylum, and 54 per cent reject raids by the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) on workplaces.
The administration’s deportation of migrants to a prison in El Salvador (News, 28 March) attracts the most disapproval, with 61 per cent saying that they are opposed to this.
Expanding the US border wall with Mexico has majority support, however, with 56 per cent in favour — an increase of ten per cent since 2019.
The poll underlines the partisan nature of most respondents’ attitudes to immigration: 78 per cent of Republicans said that they backed President Trump’s approach, while 81 per cent of Democrats rejected it.
Age and ethnicity were also important factors. The survey found that white Republicans and older adults were more likely to be in favour of an aggressive crackdown on immigration, while fewer Hispanic and Black Republicans were in favour.
Fewer than four in ten Hispanic Americans approve of the policies, and no more than one third of Black adults approve of any of the immigration policies introduced. In contract, majorities of white Americans approve of them.
Yet among younger Republicans, support for the crackdown is lower than in their parents’ or grandparents’ generation: 85 per cent of older Republicans were more likely to say that they approved of ICE raids on workplaces, compared with 67 per cent of younger Republicans aged under 50.
The survey of more than 5000 adults was carried out at the beginning of June, before the increase in raids on workplaces, and before Marines and National Guard troops were sent in to quell demonstrations in Los Angeles (News, 13 June).
The survey also found that Americans believe that it is right for religious organisations to refuse to help with deportations — 56 per cent say this, compared with 41 per cent who say that it’s not acceptable for a church or other religious organisation to refuse to assist with deporting people from their communities who are in the country illegally.
Respondents were also asked about the impact of the raids on the country. A majority (53 per cent) said that they expected the policies to cost the country money rather than save it, but a majority also believed that the raids would help to reduce crime.
The majority of Americans said that there should be a way for undocumented migrants to stay in the country legally, if they met certain criteria, although, again, respondents were split on party lines. The number of Republicans saying that there should be a national effort to deport illegal migrants has increased “substantially” in the past eight years, Pew said.
Deporting illegal migrants is a cornerstone of the second term of the Trump administration, although there have been mixed signals from the President in recent days about the continuation of raids on certain sectors. Agricultural businesses, farms, and hotels have pushed back about the damage being done to their industry by the arrest of thousands of migrants who make up their workforce (News, 20 June).
