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Immigrant voters have swung dramatically to the right in 2024 and 2025, with immigration policy emerging as a key driver, according to CNN data analyst Harry Enten.
Appearing on CNN June 10, Enten reported that in 2020, Democrats held a dominant 32-point lead among immigrant citizens on immigration policy. That advantage has not only vanished, but flipped. As of 2025, Republicans now hold an 8-point lead, marking a staggering 40-point swing in just five years.
“Among the group that you would think would be most opposed to this, in fact, they have become increasingly favorable — not just toward Donald Trump — but toward the Republican point of view on immigration,” Enten said.
He also noted that immigrant voters are distancing themselves from illegal immigrants and rejecting policies they see as weak on border enforcement.
The rightward shift is evident in President Donald Trump’s rising favorability among immigrant citizens: 36% viewed him favorably in 2016, 39% in 2020, and 47% in 2024.
“There is no bloc of voters that shifted more to the right from 2020 to 2024 than immigrant voters,” Enten said. “And Donald Trump, at least in some surveys, actually won that vote.”
Enten’s analysis challenges the narrative that Trump’s firm stance on illegal immigration alienates immigrant voters.
“So there may be all this stuff about undocumented immigrants, and Trump being harsh on them,” he added, “but immigrant voters themselves have increasingly liked Donald Trump and increasingly moved to the right.”
Meanwhile, broader public support for Trump’s immigration agenda has similarly climbed.
According to a separate CNN segment, support for mass deportations and expanded Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has grown significantly.
As CatholicVote reported, “Trump’s net approval on immigration has swung dramatically from -21% during his first term to +1% today — a 22-point shift that makes immigration his top-performing issue.”
