What independents think of Trump's recent immigration actions, according
to a new AP-NORC poll
[February 13, 2026]
By STEVE PEOPLES and AMELIA THOMSON-DEVEAUX
WASHINGTON (AP) — About 6 in 10 U.S. adults say President Donald Trump
has “gone too far” in sending federal immigration agents into American
cities, according to a new AP-NORC poll that suggests political
independents are increasingly uncomfortable with his tactics.
Views of Trump's handling of immigration — which fell over the course of
his first year — remained steady over the past month, with about 4 in 10
saying they approve of the president's approach. But the poll from The
Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research also found that
the Republican Party's advantage on Trump's signature political issue
has shrunk since October.
About 3 in 10 U.S. adults trust Republicans to do a better job handling
immigration, while a similar share say the same of Democrats. An
additional 3 in 10, roughly, don't think either party would do a better
job handling the issue, and about 1 in 10 say both parties would handle
it equally well.
The Republican president's core supporters remain overwhelmingly
supportive of Trump's immigration tactics. But there are signs that more
independents think he's going too far.
“I am glad that immigrants aren’t just flooding across the border, but
what he’s doing now in our cities, pitting the military against our
people, these are gestapo tactics,” said independent Brenda Shaw, a
65-year-old human resources manager from South Haven, Michigan. “They’re
shooting U.S. citizens in the face and in the back."
The new polling comes as the nation watches the human impact of Trump's
crackdown in Minneapolis, where thousands of heavily armed masked agents
descended upon the city to find and remove immigrants in the country
illegally. The administration announced Thursday that it would end its
operation there, saying it had left the state safer than before.
There have also been violent clashes with protesters, including two U.S.
citizens killed by federal agents. About 6 in 10 Americans believe that
Trump has “gone too far” when using federal law enforcement at public
protests in U.S. cities, the poll found.
Republicans stay behind Trump on immigration
While about 9 in 10 Democrats and about 7 in 10 independents say Trump
has “gone too far” in sending federal immigration agents into U.S.
cities and using federal law enforcement at public protests, only about
one-quarter of Republicans agree.
According to the new survey, about half of Republicans say that Trump’s
actions have been “about right,” while about one-quarter of Republicans
say he hasn’t gone far enough. Their support for the president hasn't
wavered despite the chaos in Minneapolis.
Teviss Crawford, a 20-year-old student from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, said
he's pleased with Trump's leadership on immigration, although he wishes
the president could find a way to deport more immigrants who are in the
country illegally.
“I don’t think the deportations have been enough, to be honest. I think
it’s much too lax,” he said of Trump's crackdown. “If you crossed into
our country illegally, it’s just not right. You’re taking things away
from people who were born here."
Crawford added that Trump "should be focusing on violent criminals, but
the violent criminals are probably harder to find.”
Independents largely disapprove of the current immigration
enforcement approach
Despite their strong support for Trump, Republicans are increasingly
alone in supporting Trump on his immigration enforcement tactics.
Trump’s approval on immigration appears to have fallen among
independents since last spring, from 37% in March 2025 to 23% in the new
poll. There is greater variability in surveying small groups, like
independents, which creates more uncertainty about the magnitude of
changes. About 6 in 10 independents now say Trump has “gone too far” in
deporting immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, an apparent increase
from 46% in an AP-NORC poll in April.
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Observers film while federal agents conduct immigration enforcement
operations Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ryan
Murphy, File)
Most U.S. adults, including independents, have an unfavorable view
of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, commonly referred to as
ICE. Overall, only about 3 in 10 U.S. adults have a favorable view
of the agency, the AP-NORC poll found.
There is an large partisan gap, with independents much closer to
Democrats than Republicans. Only about 1 in 10 Democrats and roughly
2 in 10 independents have a favorable view of ICE, compared to about
7 in 10 Republicans.
“Having the border shut, that’s OK. But what Trump is doing with ICE
and Homeland Security? You don’t go yanking people out of cars. You
don’t go shooting people,” said independent Rick Kinnett, a
60-year-old Navy veteran from Crawfordsville, Indiana.
“I spent eight years in the military. This is not what I signed up
for,” he said. “This is not what we’re supposed to do. This is not
constitutional.”
Trump's weak numbers hold steady
Trump’s approval on immigration has not moved since January despite
a month of immigration-related turmoil.
About 38% of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s handling of immigration
more broadly, in line with an January AP-NORC poll conducted just
after the death of Renee Good, the first U.S. citizen in Minnesota
killed by federal agents.
The president's overall approval rating has declined slightly since
the beginning of his second term and remains low.
Overall, 36% of U.S. adults say they approve of the way Trump is
handling the presidency. His approval ratings on the economy and
foreign policy are similar to his overall approval and functionally
unchanged from January.
Historically, such numbers would push members of a president's party
to distance themselves from him — especially heading into a midterm
election season. However, Trump's allies in Washington and in state
capitals across the nation remain overwhelmingly united behind him,
reflecting consistently strong support from Republicans in the
polls.
But Trump's immigration approach seems to be a particularly sore
spot for independents. While he appears to have slid with
independents on immigration, Trump's approval on the economy — the
other signature issue where he's recently been criticized for
failing to deliver on campaign promises — is similar to where it was
last spring.
And the narrowing of Republicans' advantage on immigration is a
warning sign for Trump's party. In October, 39% of U.S. adults said
they trusted the Republicans to better handle immigration, while 26%
said that about the Democrats, giving the GOP a 13-point edge. In
the new poll, the difference between the parties is only 4 points.
“What he’s doing with ICE is the worst thing right now. I would say
the economy is the second worst thing,” said Shaw, the human
resources manager from Michigan. “I’m getting ready to retire and
I’m wondering how I’m going to make it.”
“But I’m blessed,” she added. “I don't have to hide in the basement
because my skin is brown.”
___
The AP-NORC poll of 1,156 adults was conducted Feb. 5-8 using a
sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which
is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin
of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.9 percentage
points.
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