WASHINGTON (AP) — More Americans say immigration should be a major focus of the U.S. government in 2025 as the country heads toward a modern Republican administration in which President-elect Donald Trump calls for mass deportations of migrants and an end to the promised birthright citizenship.
According to a December poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs, about half of U.S. adults cited immigration and border issues in an open-ended question that asked respondents to name up to five issues involving the government In their opinion, research should work this year. That’s up from about a third of those who called the issue a government priority in an AP-NORC poll conducted last year.
The issue of immigration has gained traction across the board – among Democrats and Republicans, men and women, and teenage and venerable adults. But Republicans in particular have become united on this issue in recent years. About 7 in 10 Republicans think immigration or a U.S.-Mexico border wall should be the focus. Just two years ago it was 45%.
That means Trump will return to the White House with his base and much of the country interested in his signature issue. That’s a stark contrast to when he left Washington four years ago with his successor, Democrat Joe Biden, and displayed a more welcoming attitude toward migrants.
But despite the widespread augment in concern about immigration, the issue is still overshadowed by economic concerns. About three-quarters of Americans want the government to focus on addressing broader economic problems, similar to recent years. There are a range of economic issues that Americans want addressed – about 3 in 10 refer to general economic problems, a similar share point to inflation, and about 1 in 10 mention either unemployment or taxes.
About a third of Americans think foreign policy is an crucial issue, followed closely by health issues and politics – both of which are commonly mentioned.
Republicans are particularly likely to want the government to take action on immigration
Trump won back the White House with immigration playing a key role in his campaign. He often denigrated migrants in the U.S., claiming they commit violent crimes, even though studies have shown no link between immigration and crime.
Some of his immigration reforms are likely to face legal challenges as Trump seeks to sharply limit the number of immigrants welcomed into the United States. But addressing these issues remains paramount for Americans as he prepares to take office.
About 8 in 10 Republicans want the government to prioritize economic issues, while about 7 in 10 Republicans say immigration or the border wall should be a top priority.
Most Democrats are now focused on the economy but have no clear second priority. Instead, about four in ten respondents cited health care and health problems, a slight augment compared to last year. About a third of Democrats mention political issues, the environment or climate change or immigration.
But even Democrats are more likely to want the government to make progress on immigration than they were last year, when only about two in 10 Democrats said it should be a major focus of the federal government.
But that doesn’t mean they’re going along with Trump’s tough approach. One Democrat said the government should focus on “border controls, not mass deportations,” while another said “better pathways to citizenship” should be the goal. In their survey responses, Republicans tended to cite “illegal immigration” and “a stronger border” as key areas of focus. One Republican advocated “closing the border, deporting illegal immigrants, starting with criminals.”
Republicans’ focus on immigration and the economy is consistent with two of the biggest challenges Biden has faced during his time in office, which has brought both high inflation and mighty migration growth.
Illegal border crossings reached record levels in 2023, reinforcing Trump’s relentless focus on border security and his promise to deport migrants en masse. The numbers fell in 2024 after Biden announced a crackdown on asylum claims, but Trump argued those steps were too little, too tardy.
Americans under 30 really want the government to prioritize inflation
The youngest adults in particular want the government to be involved in economic issues.
Americans under 30 are significantly more likely than older adults to cite economic issues, inflation and personal finance issues as crucial government priorities in 2025. About 4 in 10 teenage adults cite inflation, compared with about a quarter of older adults. And about a quarter of teenage adults say they want the government to focus on housing costs, while only about one in 10 adults ages 60 and older say the same.
According to AP VoteCast, a comprehensive survey of more than 120,000 voters, Trump made gains among teenage adults in 2024 compared to his performance four years ago, but his youngest voters were much more motivated by the economy than by immigration.
The same sentiment prevails as Trump prepares to take office. Compared to 2023, the December survey found, Americans under 30 are more likely to highlight broader economic issues and immigration as things the government should focus on — but they are much less focused on immigration than older adults. Only about a third of adults under 30 said immigration should be a focus, compared with about 6 in 10 adults over 60.
Older Americans are also largely focused on the economy, but their priorities are slightly different — about one in 10 Americans over 60 want the government to focus on Social Security in the coming year, for example. Very few Americans under 30 called Social Security a problem.
___
Lodhi reported from New York and Cooper reported from Phoenix.
___
The AP-NORC poll of 1,251 adults was conducted December 5-9, 2024. A sample was used from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is intended to be representative of the US population. The overall sampling error rate for adults is plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
