Trump’s immigration approval drops to record low, with a majority of Americans saying his crackdown has gone too far

PHOTO CAPTION: Federal agents launch tear gas and other munitions at demonstrators near the site where a man identified as Alex Pretti was fatally shot by federal agents trying to detain him, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., January 24, 2026. REUTERS/Tim Evans

By Jason Lange

WASHINGTON  -  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 between Friday and 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's overall approval rating sank 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. 

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. 

The 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 // REUTERS)