The proportion of American adults who say immigration is a “good thing” for the country has increased substantially, even among Republicans, just months after Donald Trump’s return to power. Presidency, according to a new Gallup poll.

About 8 in 10 Americans (79%) say immigration is a “good thing” for the country today, up from 64% a year ago and marking the peak of a nearly 25-year trend.

Only about 2 in 10 U.S. adults (17%) say immigration is a bad thing right now, down from 32% last year.

Americans have grown noticeably more positive about immigration over the past year, with the percentage wanting less immigration declining from 55% in 2024 to 30% today.

These findings are based on a Gallup poll of 1,402 U.S. adults, including oversamples of Hispanics and African Americans, weighted to match demographics, conducted June 2-26 national.

The same poll finds that far more Americans disapprove of President Donald Trump's handling of immigration than approve.

Trump's approval rating on the issue among Hispanic adults, at 21%, is lower than the 35% he receives nationally. This shortfall likely reflects that group's weak support for some of the administration's signature immigration policies.

Fewer Americans Want Reduced Immigration

After reaching 55% in 2024, the percentage of Americans who think immigration should be reduced has dropped nearly in half, to 30%.

Republicans are the only group that still shows, at least a majority, support for reducing immigration. Independents are the most likely to favor maintaining current levels, while a majority of Democrats favor increasing it.

Confidence has therefore returned to the level it was in 2021, before the desire for less immigration began to increase. Meanwhile, 38% now want immigration to remain at its current level, and 26% think it should increase.

More support for legal paths to citizenship, less for deportations

More Americans now favor offering undocumented immigrants paths to citizenship, while fewer support strict measures to deter or reverse illegal immigration.

The current level is the same as it was in 2019 (37%) and is slightly higher than when it was first measured in 2016 (32%).

One notable difference is the eight-point increase in support for giving immigrants living in the United States illegally a chance to become U.S. citizens because it reflects stronger support across all party groups, with the largest increase among Republicans (up 13 points to 59%).

A majority disapprove of Trump’s handling of immigration immigration

Perhaps because of Americans' opposition to the immigration policies Trump has enacted to expel undocumented immigrants from the U.S., evaluations of his work on immigration are overwhelmingly negative.

35% approve of his handling of the issue, including 21% who strongly approve, while 62% disapprove, including 45% who strongly disapprove.

Hispanic adults are more supportive of citizenship and less supportive of anti-immigrant measures

Hispanic Americans' views on immigration are particularly relevant to these measures, given the heavy focus of current immigration policy on immigrants from parts of Latin America who have entered the United States illegally at the southern border.

Regarding political views, the greatest divergence between Hispanic adults and U.S. adults in general lies in the 16 percentage point lower support among Hispanic adults for Hiring more border agents (43%).

Hispanic adults also lag the general population in their support for deporting all immigrants living in the United States illegally (by 15 points, at 23%).

And they are 13 points more likely to support allowing immigrants living in the United States to become citizens: 91% are in favor.

The Bottom Line

Americans’ views on immigration policy have shifted dramatically in the past year, according to Gallup polling, even among Republicans, who have grown much more satisfied with immigration levels since Trump took office but have also shown greater support for pathways to citizenship for people in the country illegally.

Support for stricter border control and aggressive deportation policies has declined since last year, and such measures have mostly lost their appeal among Democrats and independents.

The overall trend also shows that public opinion, in general, is much more favorable to immigrants than it was decades ago.