Trump’s immigration approval drops to record low, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds
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Federal agents standing behind police tape as people gather near the site where ICU nurse Alex Pretti was fatally shot, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, US.
PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON - American approval of US President Donald Trump's immigration policy fell to its lowest level since his return to the White House in a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, with a majority of Americans saying his crackdown on immigration
The poll, conducted nationwide between Jan 23 and Jan 25, gathered responses before and after immigration officers on Jan 24 killed a second US citizen in Minneapolis during confrontations with protesters over Mr Trump's deployment of immigration agents to cities across the US.
Just 39 per cent of Americans approve of the job Mr Trump is doing on immigration, down from 41 per cent earlier in January, while 53 per cent disapprove, the poll found. Immigration was a brighter spot for Mr Trump's popularity in the weeks following his January inauguration.
In February 2025, 50 per cent approved and 41 per cent disapproved.
Mr Trump won the 2024 presidential election after promising a historic surge in deportations.
Masked immigration officers, often in tactical military-style gear, have become a common sight across the country and protests against the crackdown have erupted in several cities, including Minneapolis, where immigration agents have responded with deadly force.
Trump administration officials have accused 37-year-old nurse, Alex Pretti, of assaulting officers during a protest in Minneapolis before an agent shot him dead, though that account has appeared at odds with videos recorded by bystanders.
Weeks earlier in Minneapolis, an immigration agent shot dead 37-year-old Renee Good, another US citizen, during an immigration raid.
Mr Trump's overall approval rating sank to 38 per cent, tying the lowest level of his current term as it dropped from 41 per cent in the prior Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted Jan 12-13.
Majority says ICE goes too far
Some 58 per cent of poll respondents said US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have gone “too far” in their crackdown, while 12 per cent said they had not gone far enough and 26 per cent said the agents' efforts were “about right”. About nine in 10 Democrats said the agents have gone too far, compared to two in 10 Republicans and six in 10 independents.
Viral videos of clashes have caused unease among Republican lawmakers, many of whom are already confronting voter anger over rising prices ahead of November’s midterm elections when control of Congress and most state governorships are up for grabs.
A leading Republican candidate for Minnesota’s governor’s race, Chris Madel, dropped his bid on Jan 26, saying the crackdown had gone too far and had made the race unwinnable for a Republican.
Mr Trump has blamed Democrats for the shooting deaths but on Jan 26 appeared less confrontational, saying he was “on a similar wavelength” with the Democratic governor of Minnesota. Mr Trump said he and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz had a “very good call.”
The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Mr Trump’s overall approval rating sinking to 38 per cent, tying the lowest level of his current term as it dropped from 41 per cent in the prior Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted Jan 12-13.
While Mr Trump’s ratings have fallen, he continues to perform considerably better on immigration than his predecessor in office, former Democratic President Joe Biden.
Americans also continue to have more confidence in Mr Trump’s Republican Party on the issue, with 37 per cent of respondents in the latest poll saying Republicans have the better approach on immigration, compared to 32 per cent who prefer Democrats. The rest said they weren’t sure or that neither party was better.
The poll, conducted online nationwide, gathered responses from 1,139 US adults and had a margin of error of about 3 percentage points. REUTERS
