A new nationwide poll reports that approval of the U.S. president's handling of immigration has dropped to 39%, the lowest level recorded since his return to the White House. The survey found 53% of respondents disapprove of his immigration policy, while just 39% approve.
The online poll collected responses between Friday and Sunday and included answers gathered both before and after immigration officers on Saturday killed a second U.S. citizen in Minneapolis during confrontations with protesters over the deployment of immigration agents to cities across the U.S.
Immigration had been a comparatively strong area for the president in the weeks after his January inauguration, with a February reading of 50% approval and 41% disapproval cited in earlier coverage. The current finding marks a decline from 41% approval measured earlier this month.
The president's overall approval rating also slipped to 38%, tying the lowest point of his current term. That overall rating fell from 41% in the previous national poll, which was conducted January 12-13.
Respondents expressed strong views about the conduct of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Some 58% said the agents have gone "too far" in their crackdown, 12% said the agents had not gone far enough, and 26% described the agents' efforts as "about right." The survey found sharp partisan differences: about nine in 10 Democrats said the agents have gone too far, roughly two in 10 Republicans agreed, and about six in 10 independents said the agents have gone too far.
The nationwide online poll gathered responses from 1,139 U.S. adults and carried a margin of error of about 3 percentage points. The timing of the survey - spanning days that bracketed a fatal confrontation involving immigration officers in Minneapolis - is noted in the poll's data collection period.
Methodology, demographic splits, and the narrow margin of error are part of the information provided by the poll. The results show a shift in public sentiment on immigration and a drop in overall presidential approval to a level that matches the lowest recorded in his current term.