Poll shows majority of US voters say immigration crackdown has gone too far ahead of midterms

A new Fox News poll suggests that President Donald Trump's aggressive immigration enforcement policy has divided public opinion weeks before the United States' midterm elections on November 3.

The survey, carried out in September, found that 53 percent of registered voters believed the administration's immigration crackdown had gone too far. The figure was higher among groups seen as pivotal to Republican chances in the vote, with 60 percent of independent voters and two-thirds of Hispanic respondents expressing the same view.

Analysts note that the national conversation around immigration has evolved since the 2024 election, when the emphasis was mainly on border security. Attention has since shifted toward concerns over how enforcement operations are being carried out on the ground.

The debate has been fuelled by individual cases drawing public scrutiny. One such case involves Cynthia Penaloza, whose sister, 23-year-old Joceline Penaloza Magana, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in August during a traffic stop in Houston, Texas. Joceline remains in custody.