New poll reveals Americans’ views on key Trump policies

Amna Nawaz:

President Trump's hard-line immigration policies have earned mixed reviews from Americans. That's according to our latest PBS News/NPR/Marist poll released today.

To walk us through some of the new numbers, I'm joined now by NPR's Domenico Montanaro.

Great to see you.

Domenico Montanaro, Political Editor, NPR:

Hey, great to be with you.

Amna Nawaz:

Let's pick up on immigration that Laura was just reporting on. It was a central issue for Mr. Trump's reelection campaign. How do voters look at this issue at this point in his presidency?

Domenico Montanaro:

Well, his handling of immigration mirrors his overall job approval rating. Only 43 percent say that they approve of the job that the president is doing when it comes to handling immigration; 52 percent disapprove.

And, like I said, that's the same number as approve and disapprove of him overall. He doesn't get really good marks on almost anything either. Only 41 percent approve of his job on foreign policy and just 39 percent on the economy. So immigration is the best of those, but still not great.

Amna Nawaz:

Domenico, like a lot of issues, it gets more interesting the deeper you go.

Our colleague Josh Barajas spoke to a number of voters about the president's immigration agenda. One, a man named Steven Singh, who's an independent voter in California, had this to say:

Steven Singh, Independent Voter:

I would love a more streamlined pathway to citizenship for immigrants. I don't want to see students deported. I hate to see students being deported as a weapon to spread someone's political ideals and to silence others. So the nuanced answer is there are some cases where I think his immigration policy is spot on and there's some where I think it's overstepping the bounds.

Amna Nawaz:

Is that view showing up in the polling?

Domenico Montanaro:

Yes, I mean, in reality, views of immigration are much more nuanced than sometimes the political debate lends itself to be. Republicans feel very strongly one way. Democrats feel very strongly another way.

When we look directly at deportation policies and whether or not they're making the country more safe, less safe, or not having any impact, you can see there 43 percent say that Trump's deportation policies are making the country safer, 33 percent say less safe, a quarter say no impact at all.

When it comes to how that breaks down by party, as we were talking about, 81 percent of Republicans think that his policies are making the country safer. Only 17 percent of Democrats are, with just 34 percent of independents as well saying that they think that his policies are making the country safer.

Amna Nawaz:

And when it comes to who is being impacted and targeted in these policies, how do Americans view that?

Domenico Montanaro:

And reflecting a lot of what we heard that voters say there, there's a real range. There's a wide range here.

When it comes to violent offenders, people who are convicted of crimes who are in the country without permanent legal status, 80 percent say deport them. When it comes to nonviolent offenders, those convicted of crimes but nonviolent crimes, almost six in 10 also say to deport them as well.

But it gets a lot trickier for Trump the further down we go. We heard that person talk about those who have overstayed visas. Only 49 percent say that they should be deported, real split in the country. And when it comes to those industry workers, people in the food and agricultural industry, for example, 44 percent say that they should be deported. A majority say, don't do that.

Amna Nawaz:

So we have seen a number of these immigration policies, other policies of the president ending up in court. There's a mixed bag in terms of where the rulings have landed.

But there are questions being raised by the president and his supporters about whether or not the president needs to comply with those court orders. How do people feel about this issue?

Domenico Montanaro:

Well, overall, I mean, 82 percent of people said that they think that any president should follow court orders, even if he or she doesn't like them.

When you dig a little bit deeper into those numbers, though, 22 percent of Republicans only said that they feel strongly about this, whereas opposed to big majorities of independents and Democrats who said strongly that they think a president should follow them.

So, I guess if there's something they really don't like, they might be able to give Trump a little bit of leash.

Amna Nawaz:

Here's the other thing that stuck out to me. Going into Independence Day, the poll showed a striking number of people who say they are concerned about the state of democracy in America.

What should we understand about that?

Domenico Montanaro:

Yes, it's really interesting. Three-quarters of people say that there is a serious threat to democracy. Three-quarters of people also say that politically motivated violence is a major threat, a major problem in the country as well.

So you have a lot of people who really feel uneasy right now about the situation in the country, the polarization that exists in the country. But they have very little faith in their political leadership as well.

Amna Nawaz:

Fascinating look where the country is right now.

NPR's Domenico Montanaro, thank you so much.

Domenico Montanaro:

You're welcome.