NEW POLLING: Voters Across the Political Spectrum Say Trump’s Mass Deportation Agenda Is Raising Their Cost of Living
“ICE Tax” a new economic and political reality; voters will hold Congress accountable for rising costs
WASHINGTON, D.C. — New polling released by America’s Voice finds that when voters hear about the “ICE Tax,” they turn against Trump’s mass deportation agenda, and they respond across party lines. Trump’s mass deportation raids are pulling workers out of farms, stores, and job sites while everyday costs climb.
America’s Voice commissioned Grow Progress to test four messages against a placebo baseline, surveying 2,787 U.S. adults nationwide from July 31 to August 1. The messages ranged from a direct, data-backed case naming Trump and laying out the price and spending impact of mass deportation, to versions that spread the blame across tariffs and the war in Iran, dropped the supporting data entirely, or rebutted the GOP’s own cost-of-living argument. The direct, data-backed version outperformed every other message tested, showing that everyday Americans do not want the “Tax” that ICE and the Trump Administration has levied on them in the pursuit of mass deportation.
America’s Voice released this polling as a follow-up to its report, “End the ICE Tax,” published earlier this month, which found that Trump’s mass deportation agenda is raising grocery, housing, and care costs and draining local economies nationwide. The poll tested whether that case, once voters actually hear it, changes how they think about the issue and who they hold responsible — and it does.
Here are the key findings:
- After hearing the data, voters were 8 points more likely to agree that mass deportation is driving up the price of groceries, gas, and childcare — and 8 points more likely to say they’d support a member of Congress who scales back mass deportation to lower costs.
- The shift reaches well beyond Democratic voters: it’s strongest among households earning over $100,000, people who sat out the 2022 midterms, and non-parents, and it also moves independents, moderates, suburban voters, and Latino respondents.
- Even among Republicans, who start from a much lower baseline, the message ticks agreement up slightly — a modest but real crack in what’s usually the hardest audience to move.
Read the full polling memo here.
“This message works because it’s true,” said Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director at America’s Voice. “Donald Trump promised to bring down costs. Instead, he’s spending billions of dollars terrorizing farmworkers, caregivers, and construction crews while families pay more at the checkout line, for home health care, for housing. Voters are rejecting Trump and Stephen Miller’s mass deportation agenda and this polling shows they’re ready to hold Congress accountable. As Americans pay a higher price for the cost of living, elected officials who support the ICE Tax will pay a higher price at the polls come this November. It’s time to end the ICE Tax.”
The trend is showing up in other recent polls, too:
- Economist/YouGov Poll: A majority of Americans—54 percent—now have little or no confidence in ICE, and Trump’s net approval on immigration has fallen to its lowest point of his second term. Conducted July 17–20.
- AP-NORC Survey: Trump’s approval rating on immigration has dropped to 39 percent—down 10 points since the start of his second term. Now 58 percent disapprove, and nearly half say he’s gone too far in restricting legal immigration. Conducted July 23–27.
- Fox News Poll: The Republican Party’s once-commanding double-digit lead over Democrats on immigration has vanished. When asked which party would handle the issue better, voters now favor Democrats by a single point, 50 percent to 49 percent. Conducted July 17–20.
- Politico/Public First Poll: Half of Americans say Trump’s mass deportation campaign has gone too far, including nearly a quarter of his own 2024 voters. Conducted August 8–12.
The message is clear: Americans know who’s driving up costs, and they want it to stop.
Read the full report here: “End the ICE Tax: How the Mass Deportation Agenda Impacts Americans Every Day as It Raises Prices, Slows Key Industries, and Drains Local Economies”
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