The article argues that Republicans' 2024 advantage on immigration has been undermined by the Trump administration’s aggressive enforcement tactics, high-profile incidents and dehumanizing social-media messaging. Polling from Pew, Quinnipiac and others shows sharp drops in Hispanic and overall approval after operations like Operation Metro Surge and the Austin ICE shooting. The columnist urges Republicans to abandon cruelty, demand transparency and pursue a measured, enforceable immigration strategy to rebuild trust.
How Trump's Tactics Squandered Republicans' Immigration Advantage — And How They Can Recover
Rep. María Elvira Salazar speaks during a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington on March 17, 2021.
Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla.) has publicly broken with President Donald Trump over immigration, telling voters in a new campaign ad: "Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far. The same Hispanics that helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today."
In 2024 many voters trusted Republicans more than Democrats to handle illegal immigration. That political opening, however, has been eroded by high-profile enforcement operations, years of abrasive messaging and a string of incidents that have undermined public confidence.
What Changed
Pew Research Center data show Trump made unusual inroads with Hispanic voters in 2024 — nearly matching the performance of the Democratic ticket in a group President Biden had won handily in 2020. Those gains have since diminished: among Hispanics who voted for Trump, approval of his performance fell from about 93% in February 2025 to roughly 66% by April, and approval among all Hispanic adults dropped from 36% to 22% over the same period. Approval among non-Hispanic adults also declined.
High-Profile Enforcement and Public Backlash
The administration’s handling of immigration enforcement — and the optics around it — helped drive that slump. Operation Metro Surge, which deployed more than 3,000 federal agents to Minneapolis last winter, became a flashpoint. The campaign ended with the deaths of two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, after agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol were involved in shootings. Officials’ initial characterizations of the Minneapolis incident, later questioned by bystander video and public scrutiny, fed a credibility gap: a Quinnipiac poll found 61% of voters believed the administration had not given an honest account of the shooting.
Public opposition to ICE’s tactics rose quickly. An ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll in mid-February showed 62% of Americans opposed ICE’s methods versus 31% who supported them — a backlash that likely contributed to personnel changes in the Department of Homeland Security.
After a period of relative quiet, another incident brought ICE back into the headlines: on Sept. 20 an ICE officer in Austin shot and wounded Wilber Rafael Garcés Pérez, a Venezuelan man with a deportation order who fled a vehicle stop. Key details remain unclear and, notably, no ICE body-camera footage has been made public. In a climate still raw from Minneapolis, many Americans are skeptical of official accounts.
Messaging Matters
Beyond enforcement actions, the administration’s tone and social-media strategy have also harmed trust. Official accounts have shared mock travel ads for deportation flights, a Studio Ghibli–style cartoon depicting a convicted drug trafficker in tears, and other viral-style posts celebrating removals. These memes and lighthearted posts about a distressing human issue have been widely criticized for dehumanizing migrants and undercutting claims of seriousness and competence.
"Tough enforcement need not be cruel," says Rep. Salazar. The public reaction suggests many voters draw a distinction between securing the border and endorsing a broader posture of spectacle and cruelty.
Where Republicans Go From Here
Voters’ mixed views show an opening for a measured, enforceable immigration policy that separates border security from theatrical enforcement and dehumanizing messaging. Republicans’ 2024 gains among Hispanic voters demonstrated that stricter policy can win support — but only so long as it’s presented and executed without needless cruelty.
If Republicans want to recover and hold their advantage on immigration, party leaders and elected officials must do three things: 1) stop the dehumanizing social-media stunts; 2) insist on transparent, accountable enforcement with clear oversight (including timely release of body-camera footage when relevant); and 3) present a practical, humane policy that emphasizes border security while protecting due process and community trust.
About the author: Dace Potas, a law student, is an opinion columnist for USA TODAY. Follow him on X: @DacePotas.
Protesters gather in downtown Minneapolis demanding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) leave Minnesota following the fatal shooting of 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti by ICE agents during a federal immigration enforcement operation, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 25, 2026. On January 24, federal agents shot dead US citizen Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, while scuffling with him on an icy roadway, less than three weeks after an immigration officer shot and killed Renee Good, also 37, in her car. His killing sparked new protests and impassioned demands by local leaders for the Trump administration to end its operation in the city.(OCTAVIO JONES, AFP via Getty Images)
A crowd of protesters against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) march through the streets of downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 25, 2026. On January 24, federal agents shot dead US citizen Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, while scuffling with him on an icy roadway, less than three weeks after an immigration officer shot and killed Renee Good, also 37, in her car. His killing sparked new protests and impassioned demands by local leaders for the Trump administration to end its operation in the city.(ROBERTO SCHMIDT, AFP via Getty Images)
People take part in a demonstration a day after a man identified as Alex Pretti was fatally shot by federal immigration agents trying to detain him, in Minneapolis, Minn. on Jan. 25, 2026.(Shannon Stapleton, REUTERS)
Restaurant patrons look through the window of a restaurant at hundreds of protesters marching through the streets of downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 25, 2026. On January 24, federal agents shot dead US citizen Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, while scuffling with him on an icy roadway, less than three weeks after an immigration officer shot and killed Renee Good, also 37, in her car.(ROBERTO SCHMIDT, AFP via Getty Images)
Coleen Fitzgerald, a 73-yr-old retired construction worker who protested against the Vietnam war decades ago, pulls a wagon with puppets representing members of the current administration as she joins other protesters during a march through the streets of downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 25, 2026. On January 24, federal agents shot dead US citizen Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, while scuffling with him on an icy roadway, less than three weeks after an immigration officer shot and killed Renee Good, also 37, in her car.(ROBERTO SCHMIDT, AFP via Getty Images)
Protesters gather in downtown Minneapolis demanding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) leave Minnesota following the fatal shooting of 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti by ICE agents during a federal immigration enforcement operation, in Minneapolis, Minn., on Jan. 25, 2026. On January 24, federal agents shot dead US citizen Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, while scuffling with him on an icy roadway, less than three weeks after an immigration officer shot and killed Renee Good, also 37, in her car. His killing sparked new protests and impassioned demands by local leaders for the Trump administration to end its operation in the city.(OCTAVIO JONES, AFP via Getty Images)
People take part in a demonstration a day after a man identified as Alex Pretti was fatally shot by federal immigration agents trying to detain him, in Minneapolis, Minn. on Jan. 25, 2026.(Shannon Stapleton, REUTERS)
A crowd of protesters against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) march through the streets of downtown Minneapolis, Minn., on Jan. 25, 2026. On January 24, federal agents shot dead US citizen Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, while scuffling with him on an icy roadway, less than three weeks after an immigration officer shot and killed Renee Good, also 37, in her car.(ROBERTO SCHMIDT, AFP via Getty Images)
A protester carries an upside down US flag during a march through the streets of downtown Minneapolis, Minn. on Jan. 25, 2026. On January 24, federal agents shot dead US citizen Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse, while scuffling with him on an icy roadway, less than three weeks after an immigration officer shot and killed Renee Good, also 37, in her car. His killing sparked new protests and impassioned demands by local leaders for the Trump administration to end its operation in the city.(ROBERTO SCHMIDT, AFP via Getty Images)
Demonstrators protests ICE operations and the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti on Jan. 25, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minn. Pretti, an ICU nurse at a VA medical center, died yesterday after being shot multiple times during a brief altercation with border patrol agents in the Eat Street district of Minneapolis. Good was killed by an ICE agent on January 7.(Scott Olson, Getty Images)
AnImmigration and Customs Enforcementofficershot and injured a manin North Austin on Sept. 20, officials say.The man who was injured in the shooting was identified as Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, of Venezuela, by Austin immigration lawyer Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, who said she was hired to represent him.(Shahrzad Rasekh/REUTERS)
The incident was followed by a swift reaction from elected officials, as the public protested thelatest shooting involving federal officersin the United States this year.(Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Protesters confront police after city officials said that a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot a person earlier in the day in Austin, Texas, U.S. September 20, 2026.(Nuri Vallbona/REUTERS)
People set up a vigil at the site where a federal immigration officer shot and wounded a man, city officials said, in Austin, Texas, US, September 20, 2026.(Shahrzad Rasekh/REUTERS)
AUSTIN, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 20: People protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on September 20, 2026 in Austin, Texas. A federal ICE officer shot and wounded a person earlier this afternoon in North Austin.(Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 20: People protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on September 20, 2026 in Austin, Texas. A federal ICE officer shot and wounded a person earlier this afternoon in North Austin.(Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 20: People protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on September 20, 2026 in Austin, Texas. A federal ICE officer shot and wounded a person earlier this afternoon in North Austin.(Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 20: People protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on September 20, 2026 in Austin, Texas. A federal ICE officer shot and wounded a person earlier this afternoon in North Austin.(Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 20: Law enforcement retreat as people protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on September 20, 2026 in Austin, Texas. A federal ICE officer shot and wounded a person earlier this afternoon in North Austin.(Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 20: Law enforcement monitor a vehicle that was shot at by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on September 20, 2026 in Austin, Texas. A federal ICE officer shot and wounded a person earlier this afternoon in North Austin.(Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 20: People protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers on September 20, 2026 in Austin, Texas. A federal ICE officer shot and wounded a person earlier this afternoon in North Austin.(Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 20: People protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers on September 20, 2026 in Austin, Texas. A federal ICE officer shot and wounded a person earlier this afternoon in North Austin.(Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 20: Law enforcement retreat as people protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers on September 20, 2026 in Austin, Texas. A federal ICE officer shot and wounded a person earlier this afternoon in North Austin.(Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Police officers stand guard during a protest after a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and wounded a man, city officials said, in Austin, Texas, US, September 20, 2026.(Kaylee Greenlee/REUTERS)
Police officers detain a man during a protest after a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and wounded a man, city officials said, in Austin, Texas, US, September 20, 2026.(Kaylee Greenlee/REUTERS)
A person waves the Mexican flag as fireworks erupt near the site where a federal immigration officer shot and wounded a man, city officials said, in Austin, Texas, US, September 20, 2026.(Shahrzad Rasekh/REUTERS)
Police prepare to deploy tear gas after issuing dispersal orders to protesters at the site where city officials said that a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot a person earlier in the day in Austin, Texas, US September 20, 2026. The tear gas was not deployed as protesters dispersed.(Nuri Vallbona/REUTERS)
A 5-year-old girl covers her face from lingering pepper spray after protesters confronted police after city officials said that a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot a person earlier in the day in Austin, Texas, US September 20, 2026.(Nuri Vallbona/REUTERS)
A vigil at the site where a federal immigration officer shot and wounded a man, city officials said, in Austin, Texas, US, September 20, 2026.(Shahrzad Rasekh/REUTERS)
Law enforcement officers order protesters to disperse at the site where city officials said that a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot a person earlier in the day in Austin, Texas, US, September 20, 2026.(Nuri Vallbona/REUTERS)
Protesters gather to block the site under Highway 183 where city officials said that a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot a person earlier in the day in Austin, Texas, US, September 20, 2026.(Nuri Vallbona/REUTERS)
A protester confronts police after city officials said that a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot a person earlier in the day in Austin, Texas, US, September 20, 2026.(Nuri Vallbona/REUTERS)
Police officers detain a man during a protest after a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and wounded a man, city officials said, in Austin, Texas, US, September 20, 2026.(Kaylee Greenlee/REUTERS)
Police officers patrol during a protest after a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and wounded a man, city officials said, in Austin, Texas, US, September 20, 2026.(Kaylee Greenlee/REUTERS)
Police detain a protester after they issued dispersal orders at the site where city officials said that a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot a person earlier in the day in Austin, Texas, US, September 20, 2026.(Nuri Vallbona/REUTERS)
A 5-year-old girl covers her face from lingering pepper spray after protesters confronted police as city officials said that a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot a person earlier in the day in Austin, Texas, US September 20, 2026.(Nuri Vallbona/REUTERS)
Police detain a protester after they issued dispersal orders at the site where city officials said that a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot a person earlier in the day in Austin, Texas, US September 20, 2026.(Nuri Vallbona/REUTERS)
Demonstrators react to tear gas flung in their direction by police during a protest after a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and wounded a man, city officials said, in Austin, Texas, US, September 20, 2026.(Kaylee Greenlee/REUTERS)
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