KFF/New York Times 2025 Survey of Immigrants: Political Implications of Immigrant Voters’ Views on Immigration Enforcement

Over half of all U.S. immigrants are naturalized citizens who are eligible to vote, representing nearly 24 million Americans and one in ten eligible U.S. voters overall. While many polls look at how U.S. voters overall view issues of immigration policy and enforcement, few look at the views of foreign-born voters themselves. Drawing on the KFF/New York Times 2025 Survey of Immigrants, this report examines how immigrant voters view President Trump and his immigration policies, including how those views are affected by – and have affected – their partisan alignment. Separate reports examine immigrants’ worries and experiences amid increased immigration enforcement and their health and health care experiences during the second Trump administration.

Key Takeaways

• The partisan identity of immigrant voters is mixed, with one quarter (25%) identifying as Republicans, just over a third (36%) identifying as Democrats, and four in ten saying they are either independent (34%) or don’t identify with either major U.S. political party (5%).
• Like the broader public, most immigrant voters disapprove of President Trump’s job performance, particularly when it comes to economic issues. While a majority of immigrant voters approve of the president’s efforts to secure the southern border, most disapprove of his handling of immigration policy more broadly. In fact, large majorities disapprove of specific policies such as “third country” deportations (80%), efforts to end birthright citizenship (69%), and the use of masked and plainclothes agents in immigration enforcement activities (67%). These views reflect immigrant voters’ own partisan alignment, but even large shares of Republican immigrant voters disapprove of deporting immigrants to countries they are not from (52%) and ending birthright citizenship (44%). While views of Trump’s immigration policies are not vastly different between immigrant voters and the broader public, immigrant voters are somewhat more likely to disapprove of efforts to end birthright citizenship.
• Four in ten immigrant voters say the U.S. is too tough in enforcing immigration laws, and most disapprove of how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is handling its job. While close to half (46%) feel that current immigration enforcement “is necessary,” large shares also say they feel “angry” (49%) and “afraid” (39%) about what is happening, while fewer feel “satisfied” (28%) or “proud” (19%).
• These views may have implications for future elections, as nearly six in ten immigrant voters say the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement actions have had an impact on which political party they support, including over four in ten who say they’ve had a “major” impact. A larger share of this group says these policies have made them feel less supportive rather than more supportive of the Republican Party, though many express generally negative sentiments or frustration with both parties.
• Immigrants’ feelings of safety and their confidence in the U.S. justice system are also shaped by partisanship. At least half of Republican immigrants (including those who are registered to vote) say they feel safer since President Trump took office and are confident they or a family member would be treated fairly by the justice system if detained for immigration-related reasons. At the same time, majorities of immigrants and immigrant voters who align with the Democratic Party say they feel less safe under President Trump and are not confident they would get fair treatment if detained.

Who Are Immigrant Voters?

Six in ten immigrant adults are U.S. citizens, and 89% of this group (53% of all immigrant adults) report that they are registered to vote. While precise estimates of how naturalized citizens voted in the 2024 presidential election are not readily available, several analyses suggest that Hispanic and Asian voters overall have been shifting away from the Democratic Party and towards Republicans in recent elections.

When it comes to partisan identity, a larger share of immigrants say they consider themselves Democrats than Republicans, but about half of all immigrants, including about four in ten registered immigrant voters, say they are either independent or that they don’t identify with either major U.S. political party.

Views of President Trump’s Job Performance Among Immigrant Voters

Six in ten immigrant voters disapprove of President Trump’s handling of his job as president, including four in ten (42%) who strongly disapprove. Views of the president’s performance vary by partisan identification among immigrant voters, with eight in ten (81%) Republicans approving and nine in ten Democrats disapproving. Disapproval is stronger than approval among partisans; seven in ten (71%) Democratic immigrant voters strongly disapprove of Trump’s performance while fewer than half (45%) of Republicans strongly approve.

These results are similar to views of the broader public, with recent polling averages finding over half the public disapproves of the president’s performance while about four in ten approve.

President Trump’s worst ratings are for his handling of economic issues, while views of his handling of immigration and border security are more mixed among immigrant voters. Seven in ten immigrant voters disapprove of the way President Trump is handling inflation (72%) and tariffs (69%), including about half who “strongly disapprove” of his handling of each of these areas. On the other hand, most immigrant voters (62%) approve of the president’s handling of security at the southern border, while nearly four in ten (37%) disapprove.

A majority (56%) of immigrant voters disapprove of the president’s handling of immigration policy more broadly, though a substantial 44% approve. Views of the president’s handling of immigration are similar among immigrant voters as they are among registered voters overall in a recent New York Times/Sienna Poll (52% disapprove, 46% approve). However, a smaller share of immigrant voters strongly approve of Trump’s handling of immigration compared to voters overall (22% vs. 35%).

Republican immigrant voters largely approve of President Trump’s handling of immigration, while a large share of Democrats disapprove and independents are split. President Trump’s lowest ratings across partisan groups are on handling of the economy. For example, large shares of Republican immigrant voters approve of how President Trump is handling border security (93%) and immigration (81%), but smaller majorities approve of how he is handling tariffs (63%) and inflation (61%). Large majorities of Democratic immigrant voters disapprove of the president’s performance in each of these areas, though nearly four in ten (37%) approve of how Trump is handling border security.

Despite being mixed on President Trump’s handling of immigration and border security generally, most immigrant voters disapprove of many of the administration’s immigration enforcement actions. This includes large majorities who disapprove of the Trump administration deporting immigrants to countries they are not from (80%), efforts to end birthright citizenship (69%), and having federal immigration agents wearing masks or plainclothes during immigration enforcement activities (67%). Fewer, though still about half (53%), disapprove of the administration increasing efforts to deport more people living in the U.S. illegally.

Immigrant voters’ views of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement actions diverge by partisanship, though approval among Republican immigrant voters is not universal. While majorities of Republican immigrant voters support many of the administration’s actions, half (52%) disapprove of deporting immigrants to countries they are not from, and more than four in ten (44%) disapprove of efforts to end birthright citizenship. Republican immigrant voters are about four times as likely as Democrats to say they approve of efforts deport more people living in the U.S. illegally (80% vs. 17%) and eight times as likely to approve of federal immigration agents wearing plainclothes or masks during enforcement activities (69% vs. 8%). Majorities of independent and Democratic immigrant voters disapprove of each of these actions by the administration (with the exception of increasing deportations of undocumented immigrants, on which independents are narrowly divided).

For the most part, immigrant voters’ views of President Trump’s immigration policies are not vastly different from those of the general population. For example, a June 2025 Pew Research Center survey found two-thirds of the public said it was “unacceptable” to “deport immigrants in the U.S. illegally to a different country if they cannot return to their home country,” with most Democrats finding this unacceptable and Republicans more evenly divided.

Immigrant voters’ views diverge somewhat from the broader public on the question of birthright citizenship. Seven in ten (69%) immigrant voters disapprove of efforts to end birthright citizenship, compared to 56% of U.S. adults overall in a February 2025 Pew Research Center survey. Notably, while 72% of Republicans overall approve of efforts to end birthright citizenship, this is lower (55%) among Republican immigrant voters.

Views of Immigration Enforcement

Four in ten (41%) immigrant voters say the U.S. is “too tough” in enforcing immigration laws, though these views are largely divided by partisanship.  Most immigrant voters who identify as Democrats say U.S. immigration enforcement is “too tough” (63%), while most Republicans say it is “not tough enough” (37%) or “about right” (35%). Among independent immigrant voters, one-third (34%) view U.S. immigration enforcement as too tough, but four in ten see it as either about right (21%) or not tough enough (21%). Notably, about one in five (19%) immigrant voters say they are not sure how to answer this question.

While most immigrant voters across partisanship feel positively toward their local police, approval of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) divide sharply by partisanship. Overall, six in ten (59%) immigrant voters disapprove of how ICE is handling their job, while a similar share (58%) approve of the performance of Customs and Border Protection (CBP). These views diverge by partisanship, with majorities of Democratic immigrant voters disapproving of both agencies and majorities of Republicans approving. Across party identification, majorities of immigrants say they approve of how their local police are handling their job. 

About half (49%) of immigrant voters say they are “angry” about what is happening with immigration enforcement in the U.S. and about four in ten (39%) say they are “afraid,” but nearly half (46%) say they feel the current immigration enforcement “is necessary,” including eight in ten Republican immigrant voters.  Despite the large share saying they feel enforcement is necessary, far fewer immigrant voters say they feel “satisfied” (28% overall, 59% among Republicans) or “proud” (19% overall, 42% of Republicans) when it comes to what is happening with immigration enforcement in the U.S. today.

Immigrant voters’ views on the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies may be related to their broader views on undocumented immigrants, including whether they view such immigrants as a strength or a burden. Two-thirds (64%) of immigrant voters say immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally “strengthen our country because of their hard work and talents,” while about a third (35%) say “they are a burden on our country because they take our jobs, housing, and health care.” While nine in ten (89%) immigrant voters who are Democrats and six in ten who are independents say immigrants living in the U.S. illegally are a strength, most Republican immigrant voters (62%) view them as a burden.

Political Implications

Nearly six in ten (57%) immigrant voters say their views on the Trump administration’s immigration policies have had an impact on which political party they support, including over four in ten (44%) who say they have had a “major impact.” Similar shares of those who identify as Democrats (65%) and Republicans (62%) say the Trump administration’s immigration policies have had either a “major” or “minor” impact on the political party they support, while fewer (45%) independents say so.

When immigrant voters are asked to describe how the Trump administration’s immigration policies have impacted which political party they support, a larger share express views that reflect negative views of these policies or a shift away from Republicans (36%) than express views in support of these policies or the Republican party (19%). Others who say immigration policies have affected which party they support offer generally negative (6%) or generally positive comments (3%) or express negative views of both the Republican and Democratic parties (3%).

Feelings of Safety and Future Outlook

Immigrants who identify as Republican are much more likely to report feeling safe in the U.S. and to be confident they would receive fair treatment by the U.S. justice system. As reported in another report examining immigrants’ worries and experiences amid increased immigration enforcement, about half of immigrants overall say they feel less safe since President Trump took office, and most are not confident they or a family member would receive fair treatment by the U.S. legal system if arrested or detained on immigration-related charges. Looking by partisanship, immigrants who identify as Democrats are much more likely to report feeling less safe and to lack confidence they would be treated fairly by the justice system compared to those who identify as Republicans. This pattern holds among immigrants overall as well as among those who are registered to vote.

For example, over half (55%) of Republican immigrant voters say they feel safer since President Trump took office and three-quarters are “very” or “somewhat confident” they would get fair treatment by the U.S. justice system. In contrast, nearly three-quarters (73%) of Democratic immigrant voters report feeling less safe under the Trump administration and seven in ten (72%) are “not very” or “not at all confident they would be treated fairly by the justice system. Among immigrant voters who identify as independents, about four in ten (39%) report feeling less safe since Trump took office while a similar share (41%) say they feel “about the same” in terms of safety. Independent immigrant voters are also split on whether they would receive fair treatment, with about half (54%) very or somewhat confident and the other half (46%) not confident.

Amid negative views of current immigration policies, a larger share now than in 2023 say immigrants were better off under President Biden than President Trump. Half (49%) of immigrants overall now say immigrants in the U.S. were better off under President Biden than President Trump, up from a third who said the same in 2023. While the share saying immigrants are better off under President Trump hasn’t changed (16%), the share who say it makes no difference for immigrants who is president declined from about half (47%) in 2023 to one third (34%) in 2025.

These views diverge predictably by partisanship among immigrant voters, but a notable 22% of Republican immigrant voters in 2025 say immigrants were better off under President Biden and another quarter say it makes no difference.

The question of whether the U.S. is still a great place for immigrants is viewed largely through a partisan lens. While seven in ten Republican immigrant voters say the U.S. is a great place for immigrants, eight in ten (78%) immigrant voters who are Democrats say the U.S. used to be a great place for immigrants but that is no longer the case. Independent immigrant voters are more divided, with close to half (45%) viewing the U.S. as a great place for immigrants and slightly more than half (54%) saying that used to be true but is no longer the case.

The KFF/New York Times 2025 Survey of Immigrants was designed and analyzed by public opinion researchers at KFF. The survey was conducted August 28 – October 20, 2025, online, by telephone, and by mail among a nationally representative sample of 1,805 immigrants, defined as adults living in the U.S. who were born outside the U.S. Respondents had the option to complete the survey in one of six languages: English (n=1,310), Spanish (n=431), Chinese (n=38), Korean (n=21), and Vietnamese (n=5), and Haitian-Creole.

Teams from KFF and The New York Times worked together to develop the questionnaire and both organizations contributed financing for the survey. Each organization bears the sole responsibility for the work that appears under its name. Sampling, data collection, weighting, and tabulation were managed by SSRS of Glenn Mills, Pennsylvania in collaboration with public opinion researchers at KFF.

Sampling strategy

Respondents were reached through one of five sampling modes: an address-based sample, a random digit dial telephone (RDD) sample of prepaid (pay-as-you-go) cell phone numbers, a callback sample of telephone numbers that were previously selected for an RDD survey, the SSRS Opinion Panel, and the SSRS/KFF Immigrants Panel. Marketing Systems Group (MSG) provided the random samples of addresses and phone numbers utilized by each of the five sampling modes. Telephone interviewing of all sample types was managed by SSRS of Glen Mills, PA.

The address-based sample (n=646) was divided into areas (strata), defined by Census tract, based on the incidence of immigrants among the population overall and by countries of origin. Within each stratum, the sample was further divided into addresses that were flagged as possibly occupied by immigrant adults, and unflagged addresses. To increase the likelihood of reaching households with immigrant adults, strata with higher incidence of immigrants overall, and of certain countries of origin in particular, were oversampled.

The RDD prepaid sample (n=233) was disproportionately stratified to effectively reach immigrants from particular countries, based on county-level information. Among this prepaid cell phone component, 117 interviews were completed by phone and 116 were completed via web survey after being invited by short message service (SMS).

71 respondents were reached by calling back telephone numbers that were previously randomly selected for RDD surveys and had either self-reported being born outside the use (n=66), or an interviewer had noted that the respondent spoke a language other than English or Spanish (n=5). 377 respondents were reached through the SSRS Opinion Panel, a nationally representative probability-based panel, and 478 respondents were reached through the SSRS/KFF Immigrants Panel, a nationally representative probability-based panel of immigrants.

To qualify for the survey, respondents needed to specify their country of birth, and were included if they were born outside the U.S. Those born in U.S. territories including Puerto Rico did not qualify. Households in the ABS frame were invited to participate in the survey through multiple mailed, multilingual invitations, requesting that the adult in the household who had the most recent birthday complete the survey by going online, dialing a toll-free number, or returning a paper questionnaire. Interviewers also attempted calls to some telephone numbers that were matched to sampled addresses. Cases sampled through either the SSRS Opinion Panel or the SSRS/KFF Immigrants Panel additionally were asked to confirm they are the named panelist.

For the online panel components, invitations were sent to panel members by email followed by up to three reminder emails. Overall, 1,496 individuals completed the survey online, 263 completed the survey via telephone interview, and 46 completed paper questionnaires.

Incentives and data quality checks

All respondents were offered post-incentives varying in amounts of $10 to $20. The RDD live interviewer respondents received incentive via a check by mail. Those who participated online received an electronic gift card incentive by email. ABS paper respondents received a Visa gift card by mail. The online questionnaire included two questions designed to establish that respondents were paying attention. Cases that failed both attention check questions, skipped over 50% of survey questions, or participated in less than one-quarter of the mean length by mode were flagged and reviewed. Based on this criterion, 11 cases were removed.

Translation

The survey was translated by linguists at Cetra Language Solutions. To ensure accuracy of the survey program in each language, Cetra Language Solutions linguists and independent telephone interviewers reviewed each question as it appears in the program and provided feedback. The survey was revised and finalized based on this feedback.

Weighting

The combined sample was weighted to match the characteristics of the U.S. adult immigrant population, based on data from the Census Bureau’s 2023 American Community Survey (ACS). Weighting was done separately for each of the region of origin groups by sex, age, education, census region, number of adults in household, presence of children, home ownership, length of time in the U.S., and citizenship status. Some groups included other weighting parameters such as English proficiency, race/ethnicity, or relevant sub-geographies. The overall sample was also weighted to match the share of U.S. adult immigrants from each country/region of origin group The final weights take into account differences in the probability of selection for each of the five sample types. This includes adjustment for the sample design and geographic stratification, and within household probability of selection.

The margin of sampling error including the design effect for the full sample is plus or minus 3 percentage points. Numbers of respondents and margins of sampling error for key subgroups are shown in the table below. For results based on other subgroups, the margin of sampling error may be higher. Sample sizes and margins of sampling error for other subgroups are available by request. Sampling error is only one of many potential sources of error and there may be other unmeasured error in this or any other public opinion poll. KFF Public Opinion and Survey Research is a charter member of the Transparency Initiative of the American Association for Public Opinion Research.