Where Americans stand on Trump’s immigration agenda

Insights into the New America brought to you by Clifford Young and Bernard Mendez

This week, the Supreme Court heard arguments over birthright citizenship. In the New America, things change quickly, and immigration policy is no exception.

Where do Americans stand on the potential end of birthright citizenship and on President Donald Trump’s immigration policies as a whole?

Below are five charts on where Americans stand on Trump’s immigration agenda.

1. A divided nation. Americans remain deeply divided on Trump’s immigration policy. Attitudes toward ending birthright citizenship in particular are relatively low, with just one in three supporting this.
2. On constitutional rights for immigrants. There is no consensus among Americans on the level of constitutional rights that should apply to immigrants, regardless of their legal status.
3. Trump’s strength. Immigration was one of former President Joe Biden’s weakest issues. Though it remains heavily divided along partisan lines, immigration is one of Trump’s strongest issues.
4. Two Americas. Americans have grown increasingly divided on immigration over the past several decades. There are two Americas; one red, one blue. This is a reality of the New America.
5. Abstract issue. Immigration, unlike issues like inflation, is largely abstract for most Americans. The impacts of immigration are largely defined by the information Americans receive from the news, social media, and friends and family over Americans’ lived realities. In today’s America, information ecospheres define everything.

In the late 1990’s, Republicans and Democrats shared similar views when it came to immigration policy. Now, Americans lie on two ends of the spectrum.

This divisiveness colors how Americans have viewed Trump’s immigration agenda so far: there is little consensus across. the political aisle.