By Jason Lange
WASHINGTON, Jan 26 (Reuters) – American approval of U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration policy fell to its lowest level since his return to the White House in a new Reuters/Ipsos poll, with a majority of Americans saying his crackdown on immigration has gone too far.
The poll, conducted nationwide Friday through Sunday, gathered responses before and after immigration officers on Saturday killed a second U.S. citizen in Minneapolis during confrontations with protesters over Trump’s deployment of immigration agents to cities across the U.S.
Just 39% of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing on immigration, down from 41% earlier this month, while 53% disapprove, the poll found. Immigration was a brighter spot for Trump’s popularity in the weeks following his January inauguration. In February, 50% approved and 41% disapproved.
Trump won the 2024 presidential election after promising a historic surge in deportations. Masked immigration officers, often in tactical military-style gear, have become a common sight across the country and protests against the crackdown have erupted in several cities, including Minneapolis, where immigration agents have responded with deadly force.
Trump administration officials have accused 37-year-old nurse, Alex Pretti, of assaulting officers during a protest in Minneapolis before an agent shot him dead, though that account has appeared at odds with videos recorded by bystanders. Weeks earlier in Minneapolis, an immigration agent shot dead 37-year-old Renee Good, another U.S. citizen, during an immigration raid.
MAJORITY SAY ICE GOES TOO FAR
Some 58% of poll respondents said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have gone “too far” in their crackdown, while 12% said they had not gone far enough and 26% said the agents’ efforts were “about right.” About nine in 10 Democrats said the agents have gone too far, compared to two in 10 Republicans and six in 10 independents.
Viral videos of clashes have caused unease among Republican lawmakers, many of whom are already confronting voter anger over rising prices ahead of November’s midterm elections when control of Congress and most state governorships are up for grabs.
A leading Republican candidate for Minnesota’s governor’s race, Chris Madel, dropped his bid on Monday, saying the crackdown had gone too far and had made the race unwinnable for a Republican.
Trump has blamed Democrats for the shooting deaths but on Monday appeared less confrontational, saying he was “on a similar wavelength” with the Democratic governor of Minnesota. Trump said he and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz had a “very good call.”
OVERALL RATING TIES TERM LOW
The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Trump’s overall approval rating sinking to 38%, tying the lowest level of his current term as it dropped from 41% in the prior Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted January 12-13.
While Trump’s ratings have fallen, he continues to perform considerably better on immigration than his predecessor in office, former Democratic President Joe Biden. Americans also continue to have more confidence in Trump’s Republican Party on the issue, with 37% of respondents in the latest poll saying Republicans have the better approach on immigration, compared to 32% who prefer Democrats. The rest said they weren’t sure or that neither party was better.
The latest poll, conducted online nationwide, gathered responses from 1,139 U.S. adults and had a margin of error of about 3 percentage points.
(Reporting by Jason Lange; editing by Scott Malone and Aurora Ellis)
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