Americans split on deportations, oppose workplace raids, Pew finds

By the numbers: A survey of over 5,000 U.S. adults released Tuesday found that public opinion is nearly evenly divided on using state and local law enforcement for deportation efforts, with 50% in favor and 49% opposed.

• Americans are also divided on offering money and travel funds to immigrants in the U.S. illegally if they leave voluntarily (49% approve, 50% disapprove).
• In addition, Americans are split on dispatching more federal workers for deportation efforts (49% approve, 50% disapprove).

Yes, but: 54% disapprove of increasing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids on workplaces where people who are in the U.S. illegally may be working, while 45% approve.

• 60% of Americans oppose suspending most asylum applications, while 39% support the measure.
• 59% of respondents oppose ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for immigrants who fled war or other disasters, while 39% support the policy change.

Zoom in: The Trump administration's overall approach to immigration is viewed more negatively than positively, with 42% approving and 47% disapproving.

• These evaluations — and views of specific policies — largely split along partisan lines, with Republicans broadly supportive and Democrats opposed.
• For example, 78% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents approve of the administration's approach to immigration, according to the survey.
• Meanwhile, 81% of Democrats and Democratic leaners disapprove, with 63% strongly disapproving.

Zoom out: A substantial majority of Americans (65%) say that there should be a way for undocumented immigrants to stay in the country legally, with 36% saying these immigrants should be eligible for citizenship if they meet specific requirements.

• The Pew Research Center says that support has been consistent in previous surveys.

State of play: Trump surprised immigration hardliners last week when his administration announced it would pause some immigration raids that were hurting the agriculture and hospitality industries.

• Then, just as quickly, the MAGA pendulum swung back. Trump said Sunday that a new wave of raids would target immigrants in Democrat-run cities. On Monday, there were signs that farms, hotels and restaurants again would be subject to raids.
• The survey was conducted toward the end of last week's escalation, but there were signs already that the public was starting to pull back support on Trump's promised raids following images of families being separated and news of people getting deported by mistake.

Methodology: The report is based on the responses of 5,044 U.S. adults from June 2-8, 2025. This includes adults on the Center's American Trends Panel (ATP). Interviews were conducted either online or by telephone with a live interviewer. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other factors.

• The margin of sampling error is ±1.6 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.