President Donald Trump is facing a stark political reality just months before the midterms, as public approval on his handling of immigration and border security has plunged to new lows.
A new NBC News Decision Desk Poll shows that the public is turning against Trump on the issue that was the cornerstone of his campaign since the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
According to the poll, conducted between January 27 and February 6, 49 percent of adults now strongly disapprove of how Trump has handled border security and immigration—up sharply from 38 percent in August and 34 percent in April.
The decline in support was fueled largely by independents, among whom the proportion expressing strong disapproval has jumped 11 points since August.
Overall, 60 percent also said they somewhat or strongly disapprove of Trump’s actions on border security and immigration.
Meanwhile, only 27 percent strongly approve, down from 31 percent in August.
That mirrors a survey by GBAO of 1,000 registered voters, first shared with Politico’s Playbook, which found that 58 percent hold negative views of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Among independents, that assessment is even more negative, with 64 percent saying they have a negative view of ICE.
The NBC poll also showed Americans turning against ICE, with agency approval at 34 percent. Nearly three‑quarters of Americans say ICE should be reformed or abolished, and 58 percent reject the notion that law‑abiding citizens “have nothing to fear” from federal immigration authorities.
In response to the poll, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told the Daily Beast: “President Trump was overwhelmingly elected by nearly 80 million Americans to deliver on his popular and commonsense agenda. The President has already made historic progress not only in America but around the world. It is not surprising that President Trump remains the most dominant figure in American politics.”
The polling is a warning sign for the Trump administration ahead of this year’s midterm elections, where the GOP hopes to defend its slim majority.
Immigration has in the past been a winning issue for the Republicans, but polls now suggest the public is not aligned with the government on the issue.
A January poll from the Democratic-aligned Searchlight Institute found that 58 percent of likely midterm voters want ICE to be reined in.
Trump said his administration is “going to de-escalate a little bit” in Minnesota after the shootings.
White House border czar Tom Homan later revealed that hundreds of federal immigration agents would be withdrawn from Minneapolis. Since then, Trump told NBC News he believes a “softer touch” on immigration may now be necessary.
Still, the administration continues to target so‑called sanctuary cities, threatening to withhold federal funding and suing jurisdictions whose local policies limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
Meanwhile, Trump has so far refused to fire Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem after she characterized both Pretti and Good as having posed a violent threat to federal agents, claims that have been disputed by video evidence and witness accounts.
Noem is now facing mounting calls to step down, with nearly 150 lawmakers backing an effort to impeach her.
Some moderate Republicans have also criticized her premature public statements and urged a more cautious approach, signaling discomfort within Noem’s own party that could pave the way for her to be made a scapegoat for broader enforcement failures. Noem is now listed on Kalshi as having a 43 percent chance of being the first Cabinet secretary fired.
Trump has also insisted that a “silent majority” of Americans supports his “law and order” approach to immigration.
“The people want law and order. And we have a solid majority. You know, we have a silent majority of people. They don’t go and riot and everything else. But they like what we’re doing,” Trump said in the Oval Office last month.
But the polls beg to differ. A Quinnipiac poll, conducted Jan. 8-12, showed that six in 10 voters disapprove of Trump’s handling of immigration, with half saying his approach makes the country less safe.
As a result, two Republican strategists told Axios last week that they believe the Republican majority in the Senate may be difficult to hold on to in November.
“A year ago, I would have told you we were almost guaranteed to win the Senate,” one of the GOP operatives said. “Today, I would have to tell you it’s far less certain.”
The post Trump Gets Major Midterm Warning as Ratings on Key Issue Nosedive appeared first on The Daily Beast.
