FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — As President Donald Trump's administration imposes new restrictions on the legal immigration system, U.S. adults are more likely than they were a year ago to think these immigrants benefit the country, according to a new poll.
The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that Americans are more likely than they were in March 2024 to say it's a “major benefit” that people who come to the U.S. legally contribute to economic growth and
help American companies get the expertise of skilled workers. The survey also shows that Americans are less likely than they were in January to say the number of legal immigrants to the U.S. should be reduced. Slightly fewer than half of Americans say the number should remain the same, a similar percentage from earlier this year.
At the same time, perceptions of illegal immigration haven't shifted meaningfully. Americans continue to see fewer benefits from people who come to the U.S. illegally, and they're more likely to see major risks from these immigrants, including the concern that they'll commit crimes while in the U.S.
Trump, a Republican, has focused much of his attention on arresting and deporting those in the country illegally, but new screenings, vetting and increased costs are also impacting people who want to come to the U.S. legally to work or study. On Friday, Trump signed a proclamation to overhaul the H-1B visa program, one of the most common pathways for highly skilled foreign workers, requiring now a $100,000 fee for applications. The Trump administration is also subjecting green card applicants to “anti-Americanism” screening, and students applying for visas now need to adhere to social media vetting.
Even Republicans are less likely to say legal immigration should be reduced than they were earlier this year and more likely to say it should remain as is.
Philip Steers, of St. Petersburg, Florida, is a Republican and feels the U.S. makes it too difficult for people to migrate legally. His nephew married a woman from Cambodia, and they have been trying for months to secure a spouse visa.
“If you are pushing all those people who are illegal out, why not make it easier for people who want to come here legally?” said Steers, 76. “We need to speed up the process for those who want to come here to benefit our country.”
While slightly fewer than half of U.S. adults say the number of legal immigrants should stay as it is, about one-quarter say the number of legal immigrants to the U.S. should be reduced “a lot” or “a little.” That marks a decrease from January, when about one-third said this.
The drop is largely driven by Republicans. About 3 in 10 Republicans now say that legal immigration should be reduced, down from 45% in January.
About 3 in 10 U.S. adults say the number of legal immigrants to the U.S. should be increased “a lot” or “a little,” up slightly from January, when 24% of Americans wanted an increase in legal immigration.
“If you don’t have immigration as a culture, the culture will stagnate. You have to have that balance,” Steers said.
Americans are more likely to see “major” benefits from people who come to the U.S. legally and less likely to see “major” risks, compared with an AP-NORC poll conducted early last year.
About 6 in 10 U.S. adults say a “major” benefit of immigrants in the country legally is that they contribute to economic growth, which went up from about 4 in 10 in March 2024. Similarly, 51% of U.S. adults say a “major” benefit of legal immigration is that American companies get the expertise of skilled workers in fields like science and technology, compared with 41% in March 2024.
Carlos Gonzalez, who was born in the U.S. to Panamanian parents, said immigrants “provide a lot to the economy of the United States.”
“They bring different ideas that help the economy,” said Gonzalez, 53, a Democrat from Waterbury, Connecticut, adding his mother served as a military nurse in Vietnam. “A lot of people don’t realize that when they do come over here, they try to enrich the country and not take away from it.”
Some of the perceived benefits are economic, but some are cultural, with about 46% saying a “major” benefit of legal immigrants is that they enrich American culture and values, up from 38% in the previous poll.
Jeff Witoszczak, of El Paso, Texas, identifies as a moderate Republican and supports Trump’s efforts to conduct large-scale deportations of people in the country illegally, saying he does not think the focus needs to be on those who have committed violent crimes. Witoszczak is married to a woman from Mexico who came to the U.S. legally when she was a child.
“Coming here illegally, that’s a crime in and of itself,” Witoszczak said. “They didn’t follow due process coming in. They don’t need due process going out.”
Americans tend to see greater risks — and smaller benefits — from immigrants who are in the country illegally, and these views largely haven’t shifted since last year.
About 4 in 10 U.S. adults now say it's a major benefit that immigrants in the country illegally will take jobs Americans don’t want, up from about one-third last year. And 42% say that immigrants in the country illegally contribute to economic growth, and 32% believe that they enrich American culture and values. Those findings have remained steady since last year.
About half of U.S. adults say it’s a major risk that immigrants in the country illegally will burden welfare and safety net programs. Studies have shown that immigrants who work in the country illegally pay local, state and federal taxes and generally do not qualify for federal benefits.
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The AP-NORC poll of 1,183 adults was conducted Sept. 11-15, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.
