President Donald Trump returned to the White House promising the largest deportation campaign in U.S. history. But nearly two years after voters gave him another term, a significant portion of his own coalition appears increasingly uncomfortable with how that promise has been carried out.
Half of Americans, including nearly one-quarter of those who voted for Trump in 2024, believe his mass deportation campaign is too aggressive, according to the latest POLITICO Poll.
The results suggest that changes in the administration's public messaging and the visible conduct of immigration operations have done little to repair public confidence. The national survey, conducted Aug. 8 through Aug. 12, found opposition to the crackdown virtually unchanged from POLITICO polls conducted in January and April.
The divide inside Trump's coalition is especially revealing. Among voters who identify with the MAGA movement, 15% said the deportation campaign has become too aggressive. That figure rose to 31% among Trump voters who do not consider themselves MAGA, according to findings reported by The Daily Beast.
That gap could become consequential in the November midterm elections. Trump's most committed supporters remain overwhelmingly aligned with his immigration agenda, but Republicans also depend on less ideological voters who backed him over concerns about the border, crime, or the economy.
Those voters may support stronger enforcement without embracing indiscriminate arrests or the deportation of longtime residents with no serious criminal records.
"Voters really did want border security, but they did not want to see abuelita taken away because she's been here for 40 years but without documentation," Arizona Republican strategist Barrett Marson told POLITICO.
The distinction between border security and interior immigration enforcement has become increasingly important. Trump's 2024 campaign frequently emphasized removing violent criminals, gang members and people who posed threats to public safety. Once in office, however, the administration expanded enforcement to workplaces, courthouses, neighborhoods and other locations where agents could encounter immigrants without criminal convictions.
According to the poll, 56% of respondents said they had noticed changes in the way ICE conducts its operations. But those changes did not produce a corresponding improvement in trust toward federal immigration authorities.
The survey also found that 51% of Americans considered the deportation campaign too aggressive, compared with 11% who said it was not aggressive enough. Another 26% considered the level of enforcement about right.
A majority also rejected the idea that immigration agencies require additional money. Fifty-eight percent said ICE and Border Patrol already receive too much funding or have the appropriate amount, while 22% believed Congress should provide more. Meanwhile, 52% said the presence of ICE agents in American cities makes those communities more dangerous, compared with 33% who said it makes them safer.
The POLITICO findings are consistent with other recent polling. An AP-NORC survey released in early August found that only 39% of U.S. adults approved of Trump's handling of immigration, down from 49% at the beginning of his second term. About half said he had gone too far in deporting immigrants living in the country illegally.
Gallup reported in July that 73% of adults still consider immigration beneficial to the United States. Although that was lower than the record 79% measured in 2025, it remained above the poll's 25-year average of 67%. Support for hiring additional Border Patrol agents also fell 10 percentage points to 49%.
The erosion carries particular significance among Latino voters. Trump made historic gains with that electorate in 2024, receiving 48% of the Hispanic vote compared with Kamala Harris' 51%, according to a Pew Research Center analysis. Four years earlier, Trump had received only 36% against Joe Biden.
Some of those voters supported Trump's promise to restore order at the border but now have relatives, neighbors or coworkers affected by his broader enforcement campaign. The poll suggests that immigration may no longer be the uncomplicated Republican advantage it was during the 2024 campaign.
Trump's base has not abandoned his immigration goals. The political danger lies in the growing number of his voters who distinguish between those goals and the methods used to achieve them.
For Republicans facing a difficult midterm election, that distinction could determine whether Trump's signature promise remains a political strength or becomes one of the party's most damaging liabilities.
