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Two weeks after federal raids in Los Angeles spurred nationwide protests on immigration policy, the latest Fox News national survey finds many voters think legal immigrants help the country – while also favoring deporting those who are here illegally.
Seventy percent think legal immigrants help the U.S. rather than hurt it (22%). That’s up 15 points from two years ago when 55% said they help.
The increase is mostly driven by a sharp increase in the number of Republicans who think legal immigrants help the country (61% vs. 35% in 2023).
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At the same time, a 56% majority favors deporting those who are in the U.S. illegally. That’s down from 63% since March and a high of 67% in October 2024 and December 2023.
Most Republicans (87%) and more than half of Independents (54%) favor deporting those here illegally, while two-thirds of Democrats oppose it (67%).
More Hispanic voters believe legal immigrants help (68%) than hurt (24%), but they are split on deporting illegal immigrants (49% favor, 48% oppose).
On June 6, federal agents carried out immigration enforcement raids in Los Angeles that prompted nationwide protests aimed at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, or ICE, and President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. In response, Trump mobilized the National Guard and U.S. military to assist federal agents and local law enforcement – to which state and local officials, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, objected.
Nearly half of voters (46%) approve of the job ICE is doing, and disapproval has increased from 41% in 2018 to 49% in 2019 to 52% today. Attitudes toward ICE are driven by partisanship, as more than 8 in 10 Democrats disapprove, while an equal number of Republicans approve. Almost two-thirds of Independents disapprove.
“Trump is on sure footing when he tries to remove people who are in the country illegally,” says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducts the Fox News Poll with Democratic counterpart Chris Anderson. “But Democrats and some independents are susceptible to the claim that the ICE raids are heavy-handed and cast the net too broadly.”
By a 6-point margin, more voters favor local governments cooperating with ICE in enforcing federal immigration policies than support allowing them to have full control over immigration enforcement in their communities (51% vs. 45%).
Divisions are stark as men, White voters, voters ages 65 and over, and Republicans prefer local governments cooperating with immigration enforcement, while nonwhite voters, voters under age 30, and Democrats favor local leaders having full control. Views among women are split.
When it comes to protesting ICE and federal immigration enforcement, voters split: 49% say it is appropriate, and the same number say inappropriate.
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On Trump’s response to the protests, by a 5-point margin, more say sending in the National Guard and U.S. military was inappropriate (52%) versus appropriate (47%).
Those most likely to say the protests are appropriate while also saying that sending the armed forces is inappropriate are Democratic men, Hispanic voters, women with a college degree, and voters under 30. Those most likely to disapprove of the protests while also supporting military involvement are Republican women, conservatives, White evangelical Christians, and Whites without a college degree. Independents think both actions are inappropriate.
Overall, more than half (52%) say sending the National Guard made things worse compared to one-third thinking it made things better (34%).
A slim majority of voters say the Trump administration’s enforcement of immigration policies have gone too far (53%). That’s more than twice as many who think they haven’t gone far enough (21%). One quarter feel they are about right (26%). Even so, voters are split on whether these policies make the U.S. safer (39% safe, 39% less safe, 22% make no difference).
In general, about two-thirds are concerned about illegal immigration (67% extremely or very), domestic use of U.S. military troops (66%), and protests in U.S. cities (63%), but these issues draw the least concern of eight issues tested in the poll.
The future of the U.S. (85% extremely or very concerned), inflation (84%), government spending (80%), Iran getting a nuclear bomb (78%), and antisemitism (69%) are more worrisome to voters.
More Democrats (87%) and Independents (71%) express concern about the deployment of federal troops in cities in response to anti-ICE protests than Republicans (42%). Conversely, more Republicans (84%) worry about illegal immigration than Independents (68%) and Democrats (49%).
Trump’s best job rating is on border security as 53% approve (46% disapprove). Immigration is his next highest, but he’s still underwater here (46% approve, 53% disapprove).
It helps that Democrats give him double-digit approval on both (19% approve on border security, 11% immigration).
Overall, 46% approve of Trump’s job performance, while 54% disapprove.
Trump’s personal favorable rating stands at 45% favorable, 55% unfavorable – similar to last month. Newsom’s favorable rating sits lower than the president’s, at 39% favorable (45% unfavorable) – still, that’s a 4-point improvement from last July. Some 16% are unable to rate Newsom.
One more thing…
Earlier this month, Trump signed an executive order barring citizens from 12 African and Middle Eastern countries from traveling to the U.S.
Voters split on the action, with 48% approving it, while the same number disapproves.
Eight years ago, when Trump ordered a similar ban, voters were more decisive. At that time, 43% approved and 54% disapproved of banning citizens from six countries in the same regions.
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Conducted June 13-16, 2025, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,003 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (149) and cellphones (566) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (288). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education, and area variables to ensure the demographics are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing weight targets include the American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis, and voter file data.
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