CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten detailed Monday how significantly Americans have shifted toward trusting Republicans over Democrats on immigration.
President Donald Trump campaigned on solving illegal immigration in both his 2016 and 2024 presidential runs. Enten, on “CNN News Central,” noted that while Democrats initially held an advantage on immigration during Trump’s first term, Republicans now enjoy a commanding lead on the issue.
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“I just want to note how different things are from where we were when Donald Trump first took office and how much more the American people are on the side of Republicans than they were eight years ago. So, ‘trust which party more on immigration,’ you go back to April of 2017, look at this,” Enten said. “The Democrats held an 11-point advantage over Republicans. So Americans were not liking what Donald Trump and the Republican Party was doing back at the beginning of his first term. Look at where they are now though. Poll out just in the last week after Donald Trump took office, which party you trust more on immigration.”
“Look at the margin Republicans are putting up here! A 22-point lead over Democrats,” he continued. “You rarely see issues in which the American people side so much with one party over the other, but on the main issue that Donald Trump has been pumping up and Republicans have been pumping up since the beginning of his term that began just one week ago, Republicans lead overwhelmingly on this. It’s not just unusual for right now. It’s just so much different than where we were eight years ago. It just gives the Republicans a lot more leverage.”
Enten also said that the number of Americans that believe the country is on the right track on immigration has “gone through the roof” from 14% in December to 37% since Trump assumed the presidency on Jan. 20.
“The bottom line is this: Many more Americans are saying that the country is on the right track right now,” he said. “They’re liking a lot more of what we’re doing on immigration than just a month ago in the Joe Biden Administration. They’re liking a lot more what Republicans and what Donald Trump are doing than what they thought of what Joe Biden and the Democrats were doing.”
On the first day of Trump’s second term, he signed an executive order declaring a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, enabling him to utilize more resources to handle the immigration crisis. The Trump administration on Thursday arrested 538 illegal migrants, including four members of the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua and several individuals convicted of sex crimes against children, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
The administration also initiated deportation flights via military aircraft, Leavitt stated.
Enten also highlighted a shift in public opinion on immigration on Wednesday, saying that 56% of adults now favor deporting every illegal immigrant, a substantial increase from 42% in 2015 and 36% in 2016. He further noted on Friday that Trump’s second term is commencing with a positive net approval rating, a sharp contrast to his first compared to his first administration.
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