US President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration agenda, a key force behind his return to the White House in 2024, is increasingly showing signs of becoming a liability, threatening Republican prospects in the November midterm elections, according to Reuters.
What was once his most potent campaign issue is now driving unease among voters unsettled by the administration’s aggressive tactics in its immigration crackdown, including the targeting of U.S. citizens and violent measures against peaceful protesters.
Illegal immigration and inflation were the twin issues that helped Trump win the election. Now, opinion polls show a growing number of Americans, including key independent voters, are unhappy with Trump’s handling of both, putting Republicans on the defensive ahead of the midterms.
The polling shows most Republicans still back Trump’s push for mass deportations, but a sizeable minority are uneasy with a heavy-handed approach by federal immigration agents, which led to the shooting deaths of a mother of three and a nurse in Minneapolis this month.
Just 39% of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of immigration, the lowest since his inauguration, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Monday.
While 84% of Republican respondents said they support Trump on the issue, a fifth of them said federal agents had gone “too far” in their crackdown.
Reuters reported that if those sentiments persist, they could spell trouble for Republicans in November, when Democrats are aiming to take control of Congress and block the president’s agenda.
