Source: Politics<\/p>\n
A survey of likely voters seeks to offer Democrats a blueprint for how to punch back on an issue that\u2019s vexed them in recent elections: immigration.<\/p>\n
The poll<\/a>, conducted in key 2026 battleground districts by Democratic-leaning groups Way to Win and Impact Research and shared first with POLITICO, argues that Democrats \u2014 with the right messaging \u2014 can drive down President Donald Trump\u2019s strength on immigration by a net 10 percentage points.<\/p>\n The poll does not shy away from Democrats\u2019 overall poor standing on the issue. Republicans overall have an 11-percentage-point net negative job rating on immigration (43 percent approve versus 54 percent disapprove), but Democrats have a 58-percentage-point net negative rating on the issue (19 percent approve versus 77 disapprove).<\/p>\n Democrats can turn the tide, the message testing found, by playing up Trump’s overreach and disregard for the rule of law that they say threatens citizens and noncitizens alike as he carries out his mass deportations. But many Democrats would rather avoid the topic. <\/p>\n \u201cComing into and out of the 2024 cycle, Democrats were silent \u2014 completely \u2014 on immigration,\u201d said Tory Gavito, president of Way to Win. \u201cThere was just no response at all. This poll is to show Democrats that when they point out how enforcement has failed, they can attack Trump on one of his most favorable policies.\u201d<\/p>\n The survey, conducted in more than 70 key congressional districts, including the 26 \u201cfrontline\u201d member list of top House Democratic-held seats<\/a> the party hopes to defend next cycle, found a weakness for Trump. His initial job rating, which started with 50 percent positive versus 49 percent negative on immigration, dropped to 45 percent positive and 54 percent negative after emphasizing overreach messaging.<\/p>\n The survey used specific examples, like the deportation of a person in the country legally \u201cbut deported and sent to a prison in El Salvador because of their autism awareness tattoo<\/a>was wrongly identified as a gang tattoo\u201d \u2014 or a 10-year-old U.S. citizen deported<\/a> because her parents were undocumented.<\/p>\n Researchers say Democrats have plenty ammunition on the issue. They found policies that separate families and impact children among the most salient issues among respondents. A large majority, 74 percent, of respondents who oppose revoking visa and green cards from people without proof of committing a crime. And nearly eight in 10 respondents do not support sending U.S. citizens to foreign prisons.<\/p>\n \u201cVoters view Trump\u2019s policies on immigration and his enforcement of immigration differently \u2014 there\u2019s a gap,\u201d said Molly Murphy, president of Impact Research. \u201cThey are more supportive of what Trump wants to do on immigration \u2026 from a policy standpoint, than how he\u2019s actually going about it.\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, getting voters engaged on the specifics of Trump’s immigration policies can be a challenge. Public polling shows voters who haven’t heard much about the high-profile cases are more likely to approve<\/a> of the president.<\/p>\n The poll, conducted May 6-11 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent, does not capture reactions to the widespread protests in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n The showdown between California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Trump administration’s deployment of the state\u2019s National Guard has also centered on the president’s overreach.<\/p>\n \u201cDemocrats shouldn\u2019t be focused on protesters right now,\u201d Murphy said. “We should be talking about the people he\u2019s deporting: people here legally, people here with no criminal records, people who have proof of citizenship and not make this a fight about protesters, because that\u2019s what he wants.\u201d<\/p>\n