- 38% call illegal immigration a "very big problem" — down sharply from 48% in February (Pew)
- 50% say Trump has gone "too far" on deportations (AP-NORC)
- 60% R vs. 17% D — the largest partisan gap of any major issue
- Economic issues are now replacing immigration as the top concern among swing independents
Why Immigration Concern Is Falling
The 10-point drop in "very big problem" responses on immigration — from 48% in February to 38% in April — is one of the most significant shifts in public opinion of the 2026 cycle. Several explanations are plausible. First, the Trump administration's enforcement measures have reduced visible border crossings, potentially reducing the sense of immediate crisis. Second, attention has shifted toward economic issues — tariffs, cost of living — that are generating more immediate household impact. Third, public concern about deportation methods may be changing the framing from border security to due process.
The partisan composition of the decline matters. The overall 10-point drop is driven primarily by Republicans and independents moderating their urgency, not Democrats increasing theirs. Republican "very big problem" responses fell from 74% to 61% over the same period, suggesting even some Republican voters are either satisfied with the administration's enforcement record or distracted by economic concerns.
The Deportation Debate: Due Process Concerns
The Trump administration's use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 — a wartime statute invoked to deport Venezuelan nationals to El Salvador's CECOT megaprison without normal immigration court proceedings — has generated the most significant legal and public controversy of the immigration enforcement campaign. 52% of Americans say the deportation process lacked appropriate legal due process, including 31% of Republicans.
Federal courts at multiple levels have challenged the deportations, and the Supreme Court issued orders both limiting and permitting various aspects of the program in early 2026. The legal uncertainty means the administration's most aggressive enforcement tools remain contested. Several of the individuals deported to El Salvador have since been identified as US legal residents or people with pending asylum claims — generating specific news stories that have shifted public sympathy toward deportees in a way that aggregate border crossing statistics do not.
For electoral purposes, the due process concerns are most salient among suburban college-educated voters — the same demographic that drove Democratic gains in 2018. These voters support border security in the abstract but are uncomfortable with images of legal residents being detained and deported without court hearings.