Republicans in California have divergent views on President Trump's immigration enforcement policies, according to a study released Monday by the UCLA Institute for Latino Politics and Policy.
The Trump administration has deployed a radical repression about immigration, launching ICE raids throughout the country and removing legal barriers to speed up deportations. The study found that while Democrats were largely consistent in their opposition to these immigration policies, Republican sentiment varied more, especially by age, gender, and ethnicity.
“At least a subset of Republicans are seeing these immigration strategies as going too far,” said G. Cristina Mora, a sociology professor and co-director of the Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley, which administered the survey. Polling data was collected from nearly 5,000 registered voters in mid-August. Just over 1,000 of those surveyed were registered Republicans.
Latino Republicans, with whom Trump made historic gains during the 2024 election, showed the highest levels of disagreement with the party's aggressive stance on immigration. GOP 18- to 29-year-olds and moderate women also moved more significantly away from Trump's policies.
Most Republican respondents expressed general approval of Trump's immigration strategy. However, the study found that respondents diverged the most from Trump's policies that ignore established legal processes, including due process, birthright citizenship and the identification of federal agents.
“On these legalistic issues, this is where you see some of the biggest rifts,” Mora said.
Of those surveyed, 28% disapproved of the end of birthright citizenship, which Trump is pushing, and 45% agreed that ICE agents should show clear identification. Four in 10 Republican respondents also support due process for detained immigrants.
Young people, who make up about 15% of the party in California, were also on average more likely to break with Trump's policies than older Republicans.
The analysis also found that educational level and region had almost no impact on respondents' beliefs about immigration.
Latinos and women were more likely to disagree with Trump on humanitarian issues than their demographic counterparts.
Nearly 60% of moderate Republican women disagree with deporting long-time undocumented immigrants, compared to 47% of moderate men. 45% of women believe ICE raids unfairly target Latino communities.
The political party was more divided along racial lines when it came to expanding immigration enforcement to hospitals and schools. 44 percent of Latinos disagreed with the practice, compared to 26 percent of white respondents, while 46 percent of Latino respondents disagreed with deporting immigrants who have resided in the country for a long time, compared to just 30 percent of their white counterparts.
Trump had obtained an important Latino vote that helped him win re-election last year. Democratic candidates, however, made gains among Latino voters in elections earlier this month, indicating a possible departure from the Republican Party.
The data could indicate that Latino Republicans “are somewhat disillusioned” by the Trump administration's handling of immigration, Mora said. “Latinos not only disagree on issues that we believe have to do with American legal process and justice. They also disagree simply with the idea that this is cruel.”
Mora said the spate of tense and sometimes violent encounters posted online could have an impact on Republican opinion on immigration. A plainclothes agent he pointed his gun to a driver in Santa Ana last week, and two shootings involving ICE agents took place in Southern California late last month.
“We now have several months in which Latinos can log into their social networks and see all kinds of videos of Latinos being attacked with or without documents,” Mora said. “I have to believe that this is doing something to everyone, not just Latino Republicans or Latino Democrats.”
