Most US Latinos feel their situation is worse under Trump, poll finds

Illinois State police confront protesters during a demonstration outside a US immigration detention facility in Broadview. (EPA Images pic)

WASHINGTON: A majority of US Latinos believe their situation has worsened under President Donald Trump, a Pew Research Center poll released on Monday found, the first such deterioration since the poll began tracking almost 20 years ago.

Asked how they see their situation, 68% of Latinos said it has worsened in the past year while about 80% said Trump administration policies do more harm to Latinos than help them, Pew said, a key reason why they view their position as worse.

Trump’s mass-deportation efforts and a sluggish economy have weighed on Latinos, whose votes in the 2026 midterm elections could be a critical to maintaining Republican majorities in the House and Senate.

“There’s no doubt that if people draw the connections to a particular administration or political party, this could have some political implications in coming elections,” said Mark Lopez, director of Pew’s Race and Ethnicity Research.

Trump’s support among Latino voters was historically strong for a Republican candidate in the 2024 presidential election, aided by their economic concerns and gains among Latino men.

Pew surveyed 4,923 Latinos between Oct 6 and Oct 16. The margin of error for Latino respondents is 2.6 percentage points.

The nonpartisan organisation said 1,116 of the Latino respondents were immigrants. About 82% of Latinos are in the US legally, according to other Pew data.

Pew’s results tracked with an October Reuters/Ipsos poll that showed 32% of Hispanics approved of Trump’s job performance, well below his overall 42% approval rating at the time.

About 70% of Latinos responding to the Pew study said the Trump administration is “doing too much” when it comes to deporting immigrants who are in the US illegally, up from 56% in early March. But they agreed that some people do need to be deported.

In addition, 52% said they worry they or someone close to them might be deported, compared with 42% in the early weeks of Trump’s second term.

Lopez said while the report showed broad discontent among Latinos, the data was nuanced in ways that may influence voting. The economy ranked as the top issue among Latinos in the 2024 election, and while the cost of living remains high, about half of Latinos surveyed said they expect the situation to improve.