Trump deportation policy poll reveals growing skepticism among voters, especially independents, raising new questions ahead of the midterm elections.
President Donald Trump’s aggressive campaign to deport immigrants could weigh on his Republican Party in November’s midterm congressional elections, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
Some 52% of Americans in the six-day poll completed on Monday said they were less likely to support a candidate who backs Trump’s approach to deportations, significantly more than the 42% who said they were more likely to support such a candidate.
The disadvantage for Trump allies was more stark among people who don’t identify with either major political party, with 57% of independents saying they prefer a candidate who opposes Trump’s deportations and 32% preferring candidates who support Trump on the issue.
Republicans could face an uphill battle to defend their majorities in both chambers of Congress in November’s midterm elections, with the party already under pressure over a surge in gasoline prices as a result of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. Republican lawmakers have almost universally backed Trump’s hardline approach on immigration, reflecting the president’s growing dominance over the party since winning the 2024 election on a promise to crack down on unauthorized immigrants.
Trump’s immigration policy was initially supported by a fairly broad slice of America, with 50% of the country approving of his performance on the issue in Reuters/Ipsos polls from the weeks after his January 2025 inauguration. But after more than a year of aggressive enforcement measures – including the deployment of masked federal agents nationwide and the deaths of two U.S. citizens caught up in the crackdown – only 40% of respondents in the latest poll approved of Trump’s performance on the issue.
The poll, which was conducted online, gathered responses from 4,557 U.S. adults nationwide and had a margin of error of 2 percentage points.
Why the Trump Administration Is No Longer Emphasizing ‘Mass Deportations.’
