New Data Shows Americans Support More Immigration

Builders is a newsletter, live interview series and annual conference focused on storytelling for local innovation ecosystems. Save the date: the Builders Conference returns May 6-8, 2026. Nominate yourself or others as a speaker here. • Immigration is the engine of American dynamism, productivity and innovation. The data is overwhelming. • Polls show Americans largely agree on a pro-immigration, pro-order policy mix, even if politics doesn’t reflect it.

• Our current system undermines both economic needs and national identity. Countries with falling reputations, like the US, lose global talent. Elena handed me her new business card with such pride. 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}}}); 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) 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. A recent Gallup poll revealed that 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% in 2025.

At the same time, a record-high 79% of adults say immigration is a good thing for the country. Relatedly, a new poll found that President Trump’s approval rating on immigration fell in recent weeks to 41%, the lowest since his return to the White House. Additionally, the poll finds that 28% of Americans agreed with the statement that “immigration arrests at places of work are good for the country” compared to 54% who disagreed. Meanwhile, a new Associated Press poll finds that only 27% of Americans say that President Trump’s immigration policies have helped them since he took office, compared to 49% who said his policies have hurt... The polling comes as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) secured a new agreement to be given access to the personal data of the nation’s 79 million Medicaid enrollees, including home addresses and ethnicities, to... The agreement says the information will give ICE officials the ability to find “the location of aliens” across the country.

© 2025 Signatory Wall and Ceiling Contractors Alliance (SWACCA). All rights reserved. As the fight over immigration reached peak chaos in the U.S. Senate earlier this month, the Congressional Budget Office held a press conference nearby. The director’s briefing about the latest economic forecast seemed disconnected from the political drama playing out a few blocks away. But its analysis was closely linked to immigration policy.

The nonpartisan budget office, which estimates future tax revenue and government spending, continued projecting that the nation would spend trillions of dollars more than it brings in. The growing deficit is mainly the result of high interest rates, more people receiving Medicare and Social Security benefits, and rising healthcare costs. On top of that, revenue plunged after Republicans passed a law in 2017 that cut taxes for businesses and wealthy individuals. Yet economists projected a smaller deficit and national debt than last year. One key reason is that they expect rising immigration to boost the U.S. economy.

Here are some of the CBO’s most striking predictions for the next decade: The CBO’s 96-page report showed how much the U.S. economy and the national budget depend on immigrant workers. Their estimates include people who enter the country illegally and those who enter lawfully.

People Also Search

• New data shows Americans support more immigration
• American Support for Legal Immigration Reaches New Heights
• Surge in U.S. Concern About Immigration Has Abated
• Views on immigration are more positive since Trump took office | AP News
• Americans have made a U-turn on immigration since 2024 election
• What do the majority americans really think about immigration
• Poll shows how U.S. views of immigration have changed since Trump ... - PBS
• Americans' views on immigration hits a 5-year high in new poll
• New Polling Shows Americans' Views on Immigration Are Growing More ...
• New data shows why the U.S. needs more immigrants