Trump has twice sent tough messages on immigration to the White House, but his signature theme has increasingly been his responsibility to voters.
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The immigration debate that has raged across the country and divided Congress is once again at a critical juncture in the election campaign, with the president looking to reassert his position after losing ground.
As voting begins for the 2026 midterm primaries, both major parties are charting their future course on the issue ahead of November’s showdown for control of Congress, with attention focused on whether Democrats will have more power to check President Donald Trump’s policies or whether the Republican majority will continue to give him more latitude.
Trump has twice sent tough messages to the White House on immigration, but with polls showing Americans disgusted with his approach, Trump’s signature theme has become increasingly responsible.
The president was backing down amid outrage over federal immigration agents who killed two people in Minneapolis in January. But President Trump said this week in his State of the Union address, one of the biggest platform statements of his second term so far. − He sought to regain the political high ground and reinvigorate the central pillars of his presidency ahead of the next critical election.
On February 22nd, President Trump held an event at the White House with families of people killed by immigrants without legal status and signed a proclamation declaring the day National Angel Families Day. The next night, he delivered his annual address to a joint session of Congress, with tens of millions of people watching from home, highlighting his immigration policies and targeting Democrats, criticizing their failure to stand when he asked those who agreed that “the first duty of the American government is to protect Americans, not illegal aliens,” to stand.
“Everyone should have stood up.”
Clips of Trump’s made-for-television moments were quickly aired by the president’s political operation and featured in campaign ads as Republicans argued that Democrats were out of step.
“I couldn’t believe the Democrats would stand on their feet,” Sen. Ron Johnson, Republican of Wisconsin, told USA TODAY at the Capitol this week, adding, “Everyone should have stood up.”
But nearly six in 10 Americans disapprove of President Trump’s handling of immigration, according to a Quinnipiac/Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll released this month. The president is losing significant support among independents, Latino voters, and young voters, according to the latest CNN poll. President Trump’s efforts to reframe the issue come as the midterm elections heat up, with primary elections held in Arkansas, North Carolina and Texas on March 3, and Trump holding an event on February 27.
Democrats say President Trump is losing on this issue and is trying to shift focus.
“He knows that the overwhelming majority of Americans do not support his ICE actions,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland.
From “superpower” to “super problem”
Trump launched his first presidential campaign by descending an escalator from Trump Tower in Manhattan and declaring that Mexican immigrants “are bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some of them may be good people.”
The president’s dark portrayal of immigrants has been central to all three presidential elections, This includes two wins in 2016 and 2024. He led chants of “build the wall” during his first campaign and ran two years ago promising the largest mass deportation effort in American history.
Matthew Bartlett, a Republican consultant and State Department official during Trump’s first term, said immigration has been one of Trump’s “superpowers” for more than a decade, but has recently become a “super issue.”
Trump’s push for deportation has become a central part of his second-term agenda, employing tactics such as deploying the National Guard to areas such as Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland to help fight crime and immigration, flooding cities with immigration agents and funneling deportees to notorious prisons in El Salvador and other countries, despite protests from local leaders. Migrants from Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar and Vietnam were sent to war-torn South Sudan.
The move, which is being challenged in court, sparked mass protests after the outrageous shootings of Renee Good and Alex Preti by federal agents in Minneapolis earlier this year. A Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll found that 62% of Americans oppose Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s tactics.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) said in an interview that Trump “doesn’t admit that what ICE is doing in Minnesota or what they’re doing in Los Angeles is wrong.” “So he thinks this is a great idea.”
focus on boundaries
Amid the backlash against ICE, President Trump emphasized border security in his State of the Union address, which polls show is more popular.
President Trump mentioned the border five times in the first three minutes of his speech, declaring, “We now have the strongest and most secure border in American history.”
The president initially reversed the policy after the Minneapolis incident, saying he wanted a “softer response” to the withdrawal of immigrants and federal workers. He entered into negotiations with Democrats over ICE reform after they resisted an extension of funding for the Department of Homeland Security that expired and caused a partial government shutdown.
In his State of the Union address, President Trump slammed Democrats over funding for DHS, saying they were targeting an agency “responsible to protect the American people from terrorists and murderers.”
President Trump also raged against the “Somali pirates who pillaged Minnesota,” praised a girl injured in an accident allegedly involving an illegal immigrant, and told the story of a Texas teen who was stabbed to death by an illegal immigrant in her home. Her mother was in the gallery.
“We allowed this to happen on our open borders,” Trump said.
The president has often sought to frame illegal immigration as a criminal problem, despite evidence suggesting that illegal immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than the general population.
“It’s literally true that thousands of Americans are alive today because of President Trump’s reelection and the election of a Republican House and Senate,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said in an interview.
Meanwhile, a Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll found that 70% of Americans do not believe the majority of deported immigrants are violent criminals.
“The American people know very well that this is not just about pursuing the worst of the worst,” Van Hollen said.
primary battle
As both parties consider how to move forward on immigration, strong sentiment about President Trump’s immigration policies in the primaries and within both Republican and Democratic bases could influence the outcome of the issue.
Early voting has already begun in the Texas Senate primary., The three Republican candidates, Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, and Rep. Wesley Hunt, are enthusiastic supporters of President Trump’s immigration policies. Two Democratic members of Congress, U.S. Representative Jasmine Crockett and State Representative Talarico, have harshly criticized ICE.
Democrats vying for the party’s nomination to replace retiring Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin have also taken aim at ICE, with Illinois Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton calling for “abolition of ICE,” and Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi saying he wants to “abolish President Trump’s ICE.” Voters will make their choice on March 17th.
The debate was reminiscent of the “defund the police” rhetoric that has run through Democratic politics in recent years, and was seen by moderates as damaging to the party. But anger over ICE could also pose a problem for Republicans in some battleground states.
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who is seeking her party’s nomination to challenge Republican Sen. Susan Collins, issued a statement warning against “sowing intimidation and fear” as DHS launched stepped-up immigration operations in Maine. Collins said immigrants were important to Maine and urged the operation to be halted, but the operation was called off a few days later.
While Trump’s allies say immigration is an issue Republicans can fight in the midterm elections, many Democrats are keen to keep the spotlight on ICE. Voters tend to reject extreme views on either side and will have their say in November.
Contributor: Zachary Schermele
