Americans Views On Immigration Hits A 5 Year High In New Poll

Leo Migdal

-Oct 29, 2025, 2:57 AM

americans views on immigration hits a 5 year high in new poll

Correction & clarification: A prior version of this story misstated poll results. It’s also been updated to add more details about the poll. Americans' views on immigration took a positive swing this year amid President Donald Trump's ongoing crackdown, according to new Gallup polling. The share of Americans who thought immigration should decrease – 55% – reached a 5-year high point in 2024. This year, it has dropped to 30%, and positive views of immigration have hit a record high of 79%, according to poll results released July 11. The poll surveyed 1,402 Americans between June 2 and 26.

The questions pollsters asked – whether immigration should be kept at its current level, increased, or decreased, and whether immigration is good or bad for the country – did not specify legal or illegal... The Trump administration ramped up its promise to carry out widespread deportations to remove people without legal documentation in June, sending out masked immigration agents to raid restaurants, farms and hardware stores and touching... He has unveiled a new "Alligator Alcatraz" detention facility for migrants in the Florida Everglades. The administration has faced legal challenges at every turn, bringing it several times to the brink of clashes with judges who have imposed barriers on the scale and tactics of the crackdown. WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans have grown markedly more positive toward immigration over the past year, with the share wanting immigration reduced dropping from 55% in 2024 to 30% today.

At the same time, a record-high 79% of U.S. adults say immigration is a good thing for the country. These shifts reverse a four-year trend of rising concern about immigration that began in 2021 and reflect changes among all major party groups. With illegal border crossings down sharply this year, fewer Americans than in June 2024 back hard-line border enforcement measures, while more favor offering pathways to citizenship for undocumented immigrants already in the U.S. These findings are based on a June 2-26 Gallup poll of 1,402 U.S. adults, including oversamples of Hispanic and Black Americans, weighted to match national demographics.

The same poll finds many more Americans disapproving than approving of President Donald Trump’s handling of immigration. Trump’s 21% approval rating on the issue among Hispanic adults is below his 35% rating nationally, with the deficit likely reflecting that group’s low support for some of the administration’s signature immigration policies. Immigration advocates protest recent detentions by ICE outside the immigration court in San Antonio, Texas, Tuesday, July 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) WASHINGTON (AP) — Just months after President Donald Trump returned to office amid a wave of anti-immigration sentiment, the share of U.S. adults saying immigration is a “good thing” for the country has jumped substantially — including among Republicans, according to new Gallup polling.

About 8 in 10 Americans, 79%, say immigration is “a good thing” for the country today, an increase from 64% a year ago and a high point in the nearly 25-year trend. Only about 2 in 10 U.S. adults say immigration is a bad thing right now, down from 32% last year. During Democratic President Joe Biden’s term in office, negative views of immigration had increased markedly, reaching a high point in the months before Trump, a Republican, took office. The new Gallup data suggests U.S. adults are returning to more pro-immigrant views that could complicate Trump’s push for sweeping deportations and other anti-immigration policies.

The poll shows decreasing support for the type of mass deportations Trump has championed since before he was elected. President Donald Trump tours “Alligator Alcatraz,” a new migrant detention facility at Dade-Collier Training and Transition facility, Tuesday, July 1, 2025, in Ochopee, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) While majorities of Democrats and Independents support a path to citizenship for immigrants living and working in the United States illegally, only four in 10 Republicans agree. In June of this year, President Donald Trump deployed National Guard troops to Democratic stronghold Los Angeles, ostensibly to support Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the wake of protests following immigration raids across... Recent data from the 2025 Chicago Council Survey, fielded July 18-30, 2025, point to a shift in public sentiment, perhaps in part in reaction to these events.

Since last year, Americans have tempered their views on immigration as a threat and show record levels of support for legal immigration in the first year of Trump’s second term. The new data suggest the national conversation around immigration is evolving and may continue to do so given subsequent deployments of the National Guard to Washington, DC, and Chicago. Partisan divides remain sharp, particularly on the treatment of undocumented workers, and, more fundamentally, on the inherent value of racial and ethnic diversity. This brief examines how public opinion has changed over the past year, where consensus is emerging, and where deep divisions persist. Support for legal immigration has hit an all-time high since the Chicago Council Survey first asked this question in 2002. Today, half of Americans (49%) say that legal immigration into the United States should be kept at its present level, up from 44 percent in 2024.

That percentage includes similar proportions across partisan groups, with half of Republicans (52%) and nearly as many Independents (48%) and Democrats (47%) in support of maintaining the present level of legal immigration. window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}}); Linley Sanders, Associated Press Linley Sanders, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Just months after President Donald Trump returned to office amid a wave of anti-immigration sentiment, the share of U.S. adults saying immigration is a “good thing” for the country has jumped substantially — including among Republicans, according to new Gallup polling. About 8 in 10 Americans, 79%, say immigration is “a good thing” for the country today, an increase from 64% a year ago and a high point in the nearly 25-year trend.

Only about 2 in 10 U.S. adults say immigration is a bad thing right now, down from 32% last year. During Democratic President Joe Biden’s term in office, negative views of immigration had increased markedly, reaching a high point in the months before Trump, a Republican, took office. The new Gallup data suggests U.S. adults are returning to more pro-immigrant views that could complicate Trump’s push for sweeping deportations and other anti-immigration policies. The poll shows decreasing support for the type of mass deportations Trump has championed since before he was elected.

Since taking office, Trump has called on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to do all in its power to deliver “the single largest Mass Deportation Program in History.” His administration has also pushed to limit access to federal benefits for immigrants who... A four-year trend that saw Americans expressing increasingly negative views about immigration seems to be reversing, a new Gallup poll shows, as a record-high percentage of people see immigration as a positive—and disapprove of... Results of a June Gallup poll released Friday show that 79% of surveyed adults see immigration as a good thing for the country and a record-low 17% see it as a bad thing, a... The jump in positive perception of immigration mostly comes from Republicans and, to a lesser extent, independents, Gallup reports, and Democrats’ belief that immigration is beneficial to the country has reached a record-high 91%. More Americans are now in favor of offering undocumented immigrants pathways to citizenship (support is up to 78% from 70% last year) while fewer support stringent measures to deter or reverse illegal immigration like...

While Gallup’s analysis says the reversal in negative perception seems to be the result of “the Trump administration’s swift and visible response” to a surge in illegal border crossings during the Biden administration. Don’t miss out on the latest news by signing up for Sharkbites.

Americans Views On Immigration Hits A 5 Year High In New Poll

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