October 15, 2025
As the Trump administration intensifies its enforcement of policies targeting illegal immigration, a new AAPI Data/AP-NORC Poll shows growing disapproval among AAPI adults of its approach. More AAPI adults disapprove of President Trump’s handling of immigration than six months ago (71% vs. 58%), and two-thirds say Trump’s deportation policies have gone too far.
Most AAPI adults say immigration is extremely or very important to them personally (63%), but few are in favor of current policies surrounding the issue. Only about 2 in 10 support targeting neighborhoods with higher immigrant populations, deploying the military or National Guard to carry out arrests and deportations, detaining immigrants at their workplaces, or allowing agents to cover their faces during arrests. Roughly 6 in 10 oppose these tactics.
And while about half of AAPI adults favor deporting immigrants living in the United States illegally who have been charged with misdemeanors, fewer favor deporting all immigrants living in the United States illegally (35%), those who express views that the federal government does not agree with (30%), or those who have lived in the U.S. for more than a decade (24%).
AAPI adults who were born outside the United States tend to be older and less likely to lean Democratic than those who were born in the United States. They are more likely to approve of Trump’s handling of crime (43% vs. 24%) and immigration (33% vs. 22%) and are more likely to favor deporting all immigrants who are in the country illegally (39% vs. 28%) and those who have been charged with a misdemeanor (56% vs 41%).
AAPI adults are more likely than the general public to say Trump has gone too far when it comes to deporting immigrants living in the U.S. illegally (67% vs. 49%).
Trump Approval on Key Issues
AAPI adults largely disapprove of how Trump is handling a range of issues. Compared with the general public, more AAPI adults disapprove of how he is handling trade with other countries (75% vs. 63%), the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (75% vs. 60%), foreign policy (74% vs. 59%), immigration (71% vs. 56%), the economy (74% vs. 62%), and crime (63% vs. 53%).
And while few AAPI adults approve of how Trump is handling them, most say these key issues are important to them personally, particularly issues related to the economy. Ninety-two percent say the economy is extremely or very important, 89% say the same about inflation, and 79% about jobs. A majority also say crime (73%), trade negotiations (68%), immigration (63%), and foreign policy (59%) are important.
Political and Economic Ideologies and Policy Positions
AAPI adults are more favorable toward left-leaning political ideologies. A majority of AAPI adults hold a favorable view of capitalism (57%) and about half feel the same about the progressive movement (51%) and liberalism (47%). Forty-four percent feel favorably about socialism, 35% about conservatism, and just 26% have positive views about the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.
Following these ideological positions, many AAPI adults support government policies that address market-based issues such as prescription drug prices and housing costs. Most AAPI adults support the capping of prescription drug prices by the federal government (85%), providing free daycare to children (71%), and requiring the inclusion of affordable units in new housing (70%). About half favor the government forgiving student loan debt for low-income borrowers (53%).
And most AAPI adults see affordable housing as a government issue rather than something to leave to the private sector. Seventy-five percent of AAPI adults say the government should be responsible for ensuring affordable housing. More trust the government rather than the private sector to do a better job of lowering housing costs (61% vs. 39%) and increasing the supply of affordable housing (55% vs. 44%).
Views on Israel-Palestine
When it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, only 37% say it is an extremely or very important issue to them personally. Still, more sympathize with the Palestinians (39%) rather than with the Israelis (13%), while the rest sympathize with both equally (20%) or neither side (28%). Two-thirds of AAPI adults say Israel’s military response in Gaza has gone too far, compared with about half of the general public (66% vs. 49%).
AAPI adults are more likely than the general public to prioritize U.S. humanitarian aid to Palestinians (65% vs. 45%) and U.S. involvement in brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas (64% vs. 51%) according to a September 2025 AP-NORC Poll of U.S. adults. Similar with the public overall, just 18% support prioritizing military aid to Israel. About half (56%) of AAPI adults also say it is extremely or very important for the U.S. to help recover hostages held by Hamas.
The nationwide study was conducted by The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and AAPI Data from September 2-9, 2025, using the Amplify AAPI Monthly survey drawing from NORC’s Amplify AAPI® Panel designed to be representative of the U.S. Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander household population. Online and telephone interviews were offered in English, the Chinese dialects of Mandarin and Cantonese, Vietnamese, and Korean with 1,027 Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders aged 18 and older living in the United States. The margin of sampling error is +/- 5.0 percentage points.
