In a significant political reversal, former President Donald Trump has seen robust public support for his signature immigration agenda evaporate over the course of 2025. What began as a popular push to secure the southern border has transformed into a series of excessively harsh crackdowns that have appalled many American citizens and sent the administration's approval ratings on the issue into negative territory.
Four Key Decisions That Drove the Backlash
Analysts point to four pivotal policy shifts that pushed Trump's immigration stance beyond the comfort zone of most Americans. First was the drastic slashing of refugee admissions. On his first day back in office, Trump issued an executive order shutting down the Refugee Admissions Program, stranding thousands with pending applications. The annual admission cap was set at a mere 7,500, a stark contrast to the Biden years. The program notably showed preference for White Afrikaners from South Africa, aligning with Trump's stated decrial of immigrants from 'Third World' nations.
Second, the administration systematically widened the net of those considered illegal immigrants. It moved to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals from Haiti, Venezuela, Afghanistan, Honduras, Somalia, and Ethiopia. This policy shift threatens to strip legal status from over 1.2 million immigrants who had been lawfully residing in the US, potentially rendering them subject to deportation despite having committed no crimes.
Record Detentions and Militarized Tactics
The third factor is the record number of immigrants detained, often in facilities with inhumane conditions. A temporary holding center in Florida, cynically nicknamed 'Alligator Alcatraz' by officials, became a symbol of this approach. The backlash was fierce, with reports of detainees, including some legal immigrants and even US citizens, being held for days or weeks without due process.
Fourth, and perhaps most visually jarring for the public, was the militarized enforcement in major US cities. Under the banner of public safety, Trump deployed National Guard troops to Los Angeles, Washington, Portland, and Chicago. Masked ICE agents in street clothes and Border Patrol officers in full combat gear became common, conducting dramatic raids. In a widely circulated incident in Minneapolis, agents were recorded dragging a woman, said to be pregnant, across a street as protesters reacted.
The tactics mark a significant escalation in aggression compared to previous administrations, even those that deported more people overall. The political cost has been substantial. According to Reuters/Ipsos polls, Trump's approval rating on immigration has swung from a positive 9 percentage points in March 2025 to a negative 11 points by December.
The Road Ahead: Quotas and a Cultural Battle
Undeterred, the Trump administration is pushing further. The Supreme Court is considering a case on birthright citizenship, a change Trump advocates. Immigration agents have begun using mobile facial recognition to scan crowds for undocumented individuals. ICE is on a hiring spree.
Most alarmingly for many, the administration has set aggressive new quotas for denaturalization—stripping immigrants of US citizenship—at 100 to 200 cases per month. This process, once reserved for rare instances of fraud, is now seen as a tool to instill fear in naturalized citizens. Trump frames mass migration as an existential threat to Western civilization and American culture, a stance he is promoting as a new standard for European allies.
As the New Year approaches, the debate forced by these policies prompts a fundamental question for Americans: Is this the future they envision for their nation? The dramatic loss of public support suggests a growing number are answering 'no.'
