Hispanic voters shifted toward Trump[1] in the last election, though a majority still backed Democrat Kamala Harris: 43% of Hispanic voters nationally voted for Trump, according to AP VoteCast, up from 35% in the 2020 presidential election, which he lost[2] to Democrat Joe Biden.
But the poll now finds that Hispanic adults are slightly less likely to approve of Trump’s handling of the economy and immigration — two issues that were major strengths for him in last year’s presidential campaign — and their views of his overall presidential performance have slipped a little as well.
In March, 41% of Hispanic adults approved of the way Trump was handling his job as president, but now that has fallen to 27%.
Over the past few months, Hispanic communities have also been a target of the President’s hard-line immigration tactics[3]. The poll found that Hispanic adults’ approval of his handling of immigration has declined slightly since March.
Some see the two issues as linked. Trump’s attacks on immigration have affected low-wage and high-skilled workers alike[4], at a moment when the economy is already uncertain because of his erratic trade policies.
Fel Echandi, of Winter Haven, is a behavioral specialist who identifies as a Democrat but sometimes votes for Republican candidates. He said he appreciates Trump’s views on transgender issues[5], including restroom access for transgender women.
But he’s concerned that Trump’s immigration policies leave many people living in fear, with negative effects on the economy.
“A lot of people rely on immigrants to do labor in certain areas,” Echandi said. “When that gets affected, all prices go up. Our food costs more because of the costs to get people to do that work.”
The poll found particularly high levels of financial stress among Hispanic adults, compared with the rest of the country. More Hispanics say the cost of groceries, housing and health care and the amount of money they get paid are “major” sources of stress, compared with U.S. adults overall.
Favorability among Hispanic Republicans drops slightly
Views of Trump have soured a little, even among Hispanic Republicans.
In the latest poll, 66% of Hispanic Republicans said they have a “very” or “somewhat” favorable view of Trump. That’s a slight shift compared with where Trump stood in an AP-NORC poll from September 2024[6], when 83% of Hispanic Republicans viewed him at least “somewhat” favorably. White Republicans, by contrast, did not change their opinion of Trump over the same period.
In another potentially worrying sign for the president, younger Hispanics and Hispanic men — two groups that swung particularly dramatically[7] toward him in last year’s election — also see him a bit more negatively.
About two-thirds of Hispanic adults under age 45 and Hispanic men now view Trump unfavorably, according to the new poll. That’s a slight uptick from September 2024, when about half in both groups had a negative opinion of him.
Other concerns about Trump’s chaotic second term emerged in interviews.
Teresa Covarrubias, a 65-year-old retired schoolteacher from Los Angeles, feels things are going in the wrong direction and said she was troubled by how some of Trump’s actions have defied norms and may impact social safety net programs.
“My major concern is the disregard for the Constitution and the law, and then also the level of cronyism,” said Covarrubias, who is an independent voter. “The people at the top are just grifting and taking, and then there’s the rest of us.”
Hispanic adults are more likely to prioritize immigration
There are signs in the poll that Trump’s tough immigration approach may be alienating some Hispanic adults. Over the past few months, the president has doubled down on his pledge[8] of mass deportations, with escalating crackdowns[9] in Latino neighborhoods in cities including Chicago.
The poll found that, in general, Hispanic adults are more likely to say immigration is an important issue to them personally. About two-thirds of Hispanic adults prioritize immigration, compared with about 6 in 10 white adults and about half of Black adults.
And although their views on immigration enforcement aren’t uniform, Hispanic adults are much less likely than U.S. adults overall to favor deporting all immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. About one-quarter of Hispanic adults support this policy, the new poll found, while roughly half of them are opposed and the rest don’t have an opinion. Among U.S. adults overall, about 4 in 10 favor deporting all immigrants in the U.S. illegally, while 34% are opposed and about 2 in 10 don’t have an opinion.
Rick Alvarado, 63, a Republican who lives in San Diego, says he still supports Trump and praised his actions to cut public spending. Alvarado, a property manager, is behind Trump’s immigration crackdown[10] in cities including Los Angeles and Chicago, saying he believes some immigrants are involved in organized crime.
But he added that he would like to see a solution for those without criminal records to obtain legal residency status.
“The people who are productive should have a pathway to stay here somehow,” Alvarado said.
The AP-NORC poll of 1,289 adults was conducted Oct. 9-13, 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. The margin of sampling error for Hispanic adults overall is plus or minus 6.9 percentage points.
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Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
References
- ^ shifted toward Trump (apnews.com)
- ^ he lost (apnews.com)
- ^ the President’s hard-line immigration tactics (apnews.com)
- ^ affected low-wage and high-skilled workers alike (apnews.com)
- ^ Trump’s views on transgender issues (apnews.com)
- ^ an AP-NORC poll from September 2024 (apnorc.org)
- ^ swung particularly dramatically (apnews.com)
- ^ doubled down on his pledge (apnews.com)
- ^ escalating crackdowns (apnews.com)
- ^ immigration crackdown (apnews.com)