Most Americans say Trump has gone too far on US immigration: Poll

Half of Americans say Trump has gone too far on deportations, though most Republicans still support his approach.

Despite an overall decline in public opinion on immigration, the issue remains stronger for US President Donald Trump than the economy or Iran, according to a new Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll.

According to the new survey released on Sunday, only ۳۹ percent of US adults approve of Trump’s performance on immigration, which is down from ۴۹ percent at the beginning of his second term.

Despite that, about ۸ in ۱۰ members of Trump’s Republican Party continue to approve of how he is handling immigration. That’s a slight decline from the beginning of Trump’s second term, when about ۹ in ۱۰ Republicans approved, but his support on the issue within his base has been mostly stable.

Republicans are also more likely to approve of how Trump is handling immigration than the economy or Iran. In just the past month, Republican approval of Trump’s handling of the US and Israel’s war on Iran dropped slightly in AP-NORC polling.

Overall, Trump’s popularity has fallen since he took office last year. But the new findings highlight the relatively muted impact of the past year’s aggressive immigration enforcement on his public standing. That’s a contrast with views of his handling of Iran, where he’s seen more recent signs of slippage, even among his own supporters. A Politico poll recently showed just a third of self-identified Make America Great Again (MAGA) voters, typically the most unquestioning of Trump’s base, felt the economic costs of the war with Iran were worth it.

Americans remain divided on whether Trump has overstepped on immigration. About half of US adults say Trump has “gone too far” when it comes to restricting legal immigration. Roughly half — ۴۷ percent — say Trump has exceeded his authority when it comes to deporting immigrants living in the US illegally. In each case, about ۳ in ۱۰ say Trump’s actions have been “about right,” and closer to ۲ in ۱۰ say he hasn’t gone far enough.

Few Republicans – about ۲ in ۱۰ or fewer – say he’s “gone too far” on deporting immigrants in the country illegally or restricting legal immigration.

Most Americans, however, say he’s gone too far when it comes to using traffic stops to find and arrest immigrants living in the US illegally — a practice that was at the centre of two recent US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shootings in Maine — and when it comes to sending federal immigration agents into US cities. Republicans were also less likely to see these as oversteps.

Trump’s overall approval rating on the economy remains low. About ۳ in ۱۰ US adults, ۳۲ percent, approve of how he is handling the economy. That’s down from ۴۰ percent at the start of his second term, and marks a shift from his first presidential term, when the economy was a stronger issue for Trump.

Roughly ۷ in ۱۰ Republicans – ۶۹ percent – approve of how Trump is handling the economy. That’s roughly in line with the share who approve of how he’s handling the presidency, but it’s slightly below the ۷۸ percent who approved early in Trump’s second term.

About ۷ in ۱۰ US adults describe the nation’s economy as “very” or “somewhat” poor. Republicans are more optimistic, with about ۶ in ۱۰ saying that the US economy is doing well, compared with about ۲ in ۱۰ independents and roughly ۱ in ۱۰ Democrats.

The poll found that Republicans increasingly approve of how Trump handles healthcare, which has never been a strong issue for the president. Unlike with immigration and the economy, a clear majority of US adults have disapproved of Trump’s performance on healthcare across both presidential terms. That hasn’t changed in the new poll, which found that only about ۳ in ۱۰ Americans approve of how Trump is handling healthcare. He’s seen a rebound on the issue among his own supporters, though. Roughly ۷۱ percent of Republicans now approve, compared with ۵۹ percent in the poll from last year.

That shift comes as Democrats kicked off ۱۰۰ days until the midterm elections last week, with leaders saying they’ll focus on healthcare cuts, in addition to the cost of living and the war in Iran. Democrats and independents continue to overwhelmingly disapprove of Trump’s handling of healthcare.