Majority of Voters Say Trump Immigration Enforcement Has Gone Too Far, Poll Finds

A majority of registered voters believe that the Trump administration's enforcement of immigration laws has gone too far, according to a new Fox News poll. The survey found that 53% hold this view, a sentiment that has remained consistent since June 2025. The remaining voters are divided, with 23% feeling that enforcement has not gone far enough and another 23% believing it is about right.

The poll results reveal a significant partisan divide. While 87% of Democrats and 60% of independents share the view that enforcement has gone too far, most Republicans are split between believing it has not gone far enough (40%) and is about right (43%).

Among those who feel immigration enforcement has been excessive, the reasons are varied. Approximately 45% attribute this to the government using too much force, while 49% believe the wrong people are being targeted. Democrats tend to believe the wrong people are being targeted by a 7-point margin, whereas independents cite the use of too much force by a 2-point margin. Insufficient numbers of Republicans expressed this view to draw meaningful conclusions.

President Trump's approval rating on immigration stands at 43%, a decrease from its high of 48% last summer. For the past four years, voters consistently believed Republicans would handle immigration better than Democrats. However, that advantage has diminished, with voters now split evenly between the parties on who would do a better job (48% for Democrats, 49% for Republicans). Independents favor Democrats on this issue by 6 points, and 15% of non-MAGA Republicans prefer the Democrats.

Daron Shaw, the GOP pollster who co-conducts the survey, noted that while the immigration issue has historically been framed around border security, voters now associate it with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) crackdowns, many of which they perceive as too aggressive. Despite immigration being identified as a priority by fewer than 1 in 10 voters, it ranks third among the nation's most important issues, trailing only the cost of living (34%) and the broader economy (14%).

The poll also addressed birthright citizenship, with 63% of voters agreeing that a child born to an undocumented immigrant in the U.S. should automatically become a citizen. While this support has softened slightly from previous highs, it remains significantly above the low of 45% recorded in 2006. Partisanship strongly influences this view, with about 90% of Democrats and 60% of independents supporting birthright citizenship, while 60% of Republicans oppose it.

Hispanic voters show a strong disapproval of Trump's overall job performance and his handling of immigration, with two-thirds expressing dissatisfaction. They trust Democrats over Republicans on immigration by 19 points, and 60% of Hispanic voters believe immigration enforcement has gone too far. Furthermore, three-quarters of Hispanic voters support the guarantee of citizenship for those born in the U.S. to undocumented parents.

The Fox News survey was conducted from September 11-14, 2026, involving 1,211 registered voters. The margin of sampling error for the full sample is plus or minus 3 percentage points.