WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� About 6 in 10 U.S. adults say President Donald Trump has 鈥済one too far鈥� in sending federal immigration agents into American cities, according to a new AP-NORC poll that suggests political independents are increasingly uncomfortable with his tactics.
Views of Trump’s handling of immigration 鈥� which fell over the course of his first year 鈥� remained steady over the past month, with about 4 in 10 saying they approve of the president’s approach. But the poll from also found that the Republican Party’s advantage on Trump’s signature political issue has shrunk since October.
About 3 in 10 U.S. adults trust Republicans to do a better job handling immigration, while a similar share say the same of Democrats. An additional 3 in 10, roughly, don’t think either party would do a better job handling the issue, and about 1 in 10 say both parties would handle it equally well.
The Republican president’s core supporters remain overwhelmingly supportive of Trump’s immigration tactics. But there are signs that more independents think he’s going too far.
鈥淚 am glad that immigrants aren鈥檛 just flooding across the border, but what he鈥檚 doing now in our cities, pitting the military against our people, these are gestapo tactics,鈥� said independent Brenda Shaw, a 65-year-old human resources manager from South Haven, Michigan. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e shooting U.S. citizens in the face and in the back.”
The new polling comes as the nation watches the human impact of Trump’s crackdown in Minneapolis, where thousands of heavily armed masked agents descended upon the city to find and remove immigrants in the country illegally. that it would end its operation there, saying it had left the state safer than before.
There have also been violent clashes with protesters, including two U.S. citizens killed by federal agents. About 6 in 10 Americans believe that Trump has 鈥済one too far鈥� when using federal law enforcement at public protests in U.S. cities, the poll found.
Republicans stay behind Trump on immigration
While about 9 in 10 Democrats and about 7 in 10 independents say Trump has 鈥済one too far鈥� in sending federal immigration agents into U.S. cities and using federal law enforcement at public protests, only about one-quarter of Republicans agree.
According to the new survey, about half of Republicans say that Trump鈥檚 actions have been 鈥渁bout right,鈥� while about one-quarter of Republicans say he hasn鈥檛 gone far enough. Their support for the president hasn’t wavered despite the chaos in Minneapolis.
Teviss Crawford, a 20-year-old student from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, said he’s pleased with Trump’s leadership on immigration, although he wishes the president could find a way to deport more immigrants who are in the country illegally.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think the deportations have been enough, to be honest. I think it鈥檚 much too lax,鈥� he said of Trump’s crackdown. 鈥淚f you crossed into our country illegally, it鈥檚 just not right. You鈥檙e taking things away from people who were born here.”
Crawford added that Trump “should be focusing on violent criminals, but the violent criminals are probably harder to find.鈥�
Independents largely disapprove of the current immigration enforcement approach
Despite their strong support for Trump, Republicans are increasingly alone in supporting Trump on his immigration enforcement tactics.
Trump鈥檚 approval on immigration appears to have fallen among independents since last spring, from 37% in March 2025 to 23% in the new poll. There is greater variability in surveying small groups, like independents, which creates more uncertainty about the magnitude of changes. About 6 in 10 independents now say Trump has 鈥済one too far鈥� in deporting immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, an apparent increase from 46% in an AP-NORC poll in April.
Most U.S. adults, including independents, have an unfavorable view of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, commonly referred to as ICE. Overall, only about 3 in 10 U.S. adults have a favorable view of the agency, the AP-NORC poll found.
There is an large partisan gap, with independents much closer to Democrats than Republicans. Only about 1 in 10 Democrats and roughly 2 in 10 independents have a favorable view of ICE, compared to about 7 in 10 Republicans.
鈥淗aving the border shut, that鈥檚 OK. But what Trump is doing with ICE and Homeland Security? You don鈥檛 go yanking people out of cars. You don鈥檛 go shooting people,鈥� said independent Rick Kinnett, a 60-year-old Navy veteran from Crawfordsville, Indiana.
鈥淚 spent eight years in the military. This is not what I signed up for,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is not what we鈥檙e supposed to do. This is not constitutional.鈥�
Trump’s weak numbers hold steady
Trump鈥檚 approval on immigration has not moved since January despite a month of immigration-related turmoil.
About 38% of U.S. adults approve of Trump鈥檚 handling of immigration more broadly, in line with an conducted just after the death of Renee Good, the first U.S. citizen in Minnesota killed by federal agents.
The president’s overall approval rating has declined slightly since the beginning of his second term and remains low.
Overall, 36% of U.S. adults say they approve of the way Trump is handling the presidency. His approval ratings on the economy and foreign policy are similar to his overall approval and functionally unchanged from January.
Historically, such numbers would push members of a president’s party to distance themselves from him 鈥� especially heading into a midterm election season. However, Trump’s allies in Washington and in state capitals across the nation remain overwhelmingly united behind him, reflecting consistently strong support from Republicans in the polls.
But Trump’s immigration approach seems to be a particularly sore spot for independents. While he appears to have slid with independents on immigration, Trump’s approval on the economy 鈥� the other signature issue where he’s recently been criticized for failing to deliver on campaign promises 鈥� is similar to where it was last spring.
And the narrowing of Republicans’ advantage on immigration is a warning sign for Trump’s party. In October, 39% of U.S. adults said they trusted the Republicans to better handle immigration, while 26% said that about the Democrats, giving the GOP a 13-point edge. In the new poll, the difference between the parties is only 4 points.
鈥淲hat he鈥檚 doing with ICE is the worst thing right now. I would say the economy is the second worst thing,鈥� said Shaw, the human resources manager from Michigan. 鈥淚鈥檓 getting ready to retire and I鈥檓 wondering how I鈥檓 going to make it.鈥�
鈥淏ut I鈥檓 blessed,鈥� she added. 鈥淚 don’t have to hide in the basement because my skin is brown.鈥�
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The AP-NORC poll of 1,156 adults was conducted Feb. 5-8 using a sample drawn from NORC鈥檚 probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
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