Trump’s approval rating on immigration falls to lowest level of his term, poll finds

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump’s public approval rating on immigration fell in recent weeks to 41 per cent, the lowest since his return to the White House, as Americans took a dour view of heavy-handed tactics, a Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on July 16 found.

The same share of respondents in the two-day poll – 41 per cent – said they approved of Mr Trump’s overall performance as president, matching a June 21-23 reading that marked the lowest of his second term so far. His approval rating on immigration was 43 per cent in the June poll.

The Republican President has ordered a nationwide campaign to arrest migrants who are in the country illegally and has vowed to deport millions of people, executing raids at work sites including farms that were largely exempted from enforcement during his first term. The raids often feature masked officials and have provoked dozens of lawsuits.

Only 28 per cent of poll respondents said they agreed with a statement that “immigration arrests at places of work are good for the country”, compared with 54 per cent who disagreed. Republicans were notably divided, with 56 per cent in favour of workplace raids, 24 per cent opposed and about 20 per cent saying they were unsure. Democrats overwhelmingly disagreed.

In one recent immigration raid of a farm in California, one worker died and hundreds were arrested.

Republicans were also divided when asked if they agreed with a statement that arrests of immigrants should be carried out like military operations. Sixty per cent agreed and 25 per cent disagreed. Overall, just one in three Americans supported the notion, and one in 10 Democrats.

Americans were more clearly divided along partisan lines on whether immigration enforcement officials should wear masks during raids. Some 70 per cent of Republicans said they should, while the same share of Democrats said they should not.

Immigration policy until recently was a strong point for Mr Trump. In Reuters/Ipsos polling on his approval on a range of issues, from foreign policy to taxation, immigration has been the only policy area where his approval reached 50 per cent – hitting that mark in February and March.

It has since trended lower. In the latest poll, 51 per cent of respondents said they disapproved of his performance on the issue, 10 points more than the share who liked his approach. Congress passed a spending law in July that provides funding to detain at least 100,000 people, a steep increase over the record 58,000 in custody by late June.

The Reuters/Ipsos survey was conducted online and nationwide, gathering responses from 1,027 US adults. It had a margin of error of 3 percentage points. REUTERS