The Trump administration’s efforts to hunt down and deport illegal immigrants are broadly popular with the general public, though Americans are split over how far they want the feds to go, a new poll shows.
Overall, 54% of US adults approve of the deportation effort compared to 46% who disapprove of it, according to the CBS News/YouGov survey.
The poll was conducted just before Los Angeles plunged into riots over the weekend in response to the feds’ immigration enforcement activity. President Trump ended up sending in the National Guard and ramped up pressure on local leaders to tame the unrest.
New York City also was hit by a mob trying to prevent authorities from conducting immigration raids.
Polling has long indicated that immigration is a top issue for Trump and Americans, which has complicated Democratic efforts to fight back against his deportation push.
The poll found that Americans currently have a dismal view of Democrats.
A whopping 78% of all respondents called Dem leaders “ineffective” — including 71% of Democrats.
Still, despite generally favoring Trump’s immigration policies, Americans are torn over some of the nuances in his initiatives, the survey showed.
About 42% said they believe his deportation policies are making Americans feel safer, compared to 30% who said less safe and 27% who said there was no change, according to the survey.
Roughly half of respondents said they believe that Trump has been deporting more people than they would have expected, even given his 2024 campaign rhetoric. Of that bloc, 42% said they approve of the number while 58% disapprove.
Of the other chunk of voters who felt that Trump was deporting about the same or fewer people than expected, 66% approved, compared to 34% who disapproved.
A solid 63% want illegal immigrants to get a hearing before being deported. Also, about 39% of voters feel Trump’s deportation policies are harming the US economy, compared to 32% who feel its strengthening it.
Trump has been pushing Congress to send him more resources to expand the deportation effort and adequately secure the US-Mexico border.
On the issue of immigration broadly, Trump notched a 50% approval rating, which tops his scorecard on the economy (42%) and overall approval rating (45%).
Historically, the economy had been a strong suit for Trump, both during his first term and in the 2024 campaign cycle. The recent public cooling to his performance seemingly dovetails with unease over his tariff policy.
Only 41% of those polled said they favor new tariffs on imported goods, compared to 59% who oppose them.
Perhaps more troubling for Trump, 75% felt that the tariffs would help the wealthy.
A similar dynamic took place when voters were questioned about Trump’s proposed One Big Beautiful Bill Act. A firm 60% felt it would help the rich, 31% said the middle class and 26% said the lower class. A third of voters weren’t aware of what was in the megabill, and 23% said they only had a minimal sense of it.
The megabill features an extension of much of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, enhanced border security, bolstered defense spending, energy reform and a bevy of other conservative wish-list items.
The CBS News/YouGov survey sampled 2,428 adults between June 4-6, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percentage points.
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