Latest Harvard/Harris Poll: Immigration Enforcement Is Very Popular with Voters
So, why all the opposition from governors and mayors? It’s time for them to get smart or risk electoral backlash
By Andrew R. Arthur on October 9, 2025
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order this week creating so-called “ICE free” zones in the Windy City, just the latest in a series of state and municipal efforts to stymie the agency’s enforcement efforts. But if the latest Harvard/Harris poll is to be believed, enforcing the immigration laws — particularly with respect to criminal illegal aliens — is among the most popular policies for the U.S. electorate. Why the disconnect between Democratic talking points and voter sentiment?
That poll was conducted by the Harris Poll and Harris X for the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard University, surveying 2,413 registered voters between October 1 and 2. The margin of error is +/- 1.99 percentage points — an important point for the analysis that follows.
Trump’s Popularity
Just to set the stage, understand that this is not a “Trump-friendly poll” by any stretch.
Some 51 percent of those polled stated that the country is on the “wrong track” (40 percent said the Republic is on the “right track”), 53 percent said the economy was on the wrong track (37 percent claimed pocketbook issues were on the right track), and the president’s overall approval rating was at 46 percent, roughly equivalent to where Trump stood last month in the same poll (47 percent).
And aside from Trump’s efforts to “fight crime in America’s cities”, which half (50 percent) of those polled approved of, the president is underwater on every other major issue, from “handling inflation” and “tariffs” (both areas in which he received a 40 percent approval rating) to “foreign affairs” (44 percent approval) to “reducing the cost of the government” (47 percent approval).
https://cis.org/Arthur/Latest-HarvardHarris-Poll-Immigration-Enforcement-Very-Popular-Voters
