Ahead of the mid-term elections, US President Donald Trump has scaled down his crackdown on immigrants. Even his supporters have warned for weeks that the violent crackdown has gone too far and could worsen Republicans’ prospects in the mid-terms — they are already projected to lose mid-terms.
Ahead of the mid-term elections, US President Donald Trump has scaled down his crackdown on immigrants amid all-round criticism.
The Trump administration on Thursday announced the
end of the crackdown in Minnesota that saw federal agents killing two American citizens in addition to having several other violent confrontations with citizens and immigrants alike. An agent also tried to storm a consulate in violation of international law.
The scaling down has occurred at a time when even Trump’s supporters have warned for weeks that his violent crackdown on immigrants has gone too far and
could worsen Republicans’ prospects in the mid-terms — the Republicans are anyway projected to lose mid-terms.
Florida State Senator Ileana Garcia, Co-Founder of Latinas for Trump, warned the Republicans would lose the mid-terms because of the crackdown on immigrants. She said the crackdown had “gone too far” and described the federal agent killing Alex Pretti as “abhorrent”.
For weeks, all surveys has shown that Republicans would lose the mid-terms.
| Pollster | Dates | Sponsor | Margin | Democrat | Republican |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YouGov | Jan. 30 – Feb. 2 | Economist | Democrat +4 | 44% | 40% |
| Morning Consult | Jan. 30 – Feb. 1 | — | Democrat +5 | 47% | 42% |
| Public Policy Polling | Jan. 29–30 | — | Democrat +7 | 48% | 41% |
| HarrisX/Harris Poll | Jan. 28–29 | Harvard CAPS | Democrat +3 | 47% | 44% |
| HarrisX/Harris Poll | Jan. 28–29 | Harvard CAPS | Democrat +4 | 52% | 48% |
| Marquette University Law School | Jan. 21–28 | — | Democrat +7 | 52% | 45% |
| Cygnal Political | Jan. 27–28 | — | Democrat +4 | 48% | 44% |
| McLaughlin & Associates | Jan. 21–27 | — | Democrat +2 | 46% | 44% |
| The Argument/Verasight | Jan. 26–27 | — | Democrat +4 | 52% | 48% |
| Echelon Insights | Jan. 22–26 | — | Democrat +5 | 49% | 44% |
| Beacon Research/Shaw & Company Res. | Jan. 23–26 | Fox News | Democrat +6 | 52% | 46% |
| YouGov | Jan. 23–26 | Economist | Democrat +5 | 43% | 38% |
| Morning Consult | Jan. 20–25 | — | Democrat +1 | 44% | 43% |
| Morning Consult | Jan. 23–25 | — | Democrat +2 | 45% | 43% |
| Ipsos | Jan. 23–25 | Reuters | Democrat +4 | 41% | 37% |
Moreover, the Trump administration has also withdrawn National Guard from several cities like Chicago, Portland, and Los Angeles. The Independent has reported that the administration has withdrawn more than 5,000 troops from California, around 500 troops from Chicago, and 200 from Oregon.
In Minnesota, Trump has deployed around 3,000 armed federal agent who drove through the town in SUVs and operated with masks. They regularly exercised force on suspects and protesters. Such use of force led to federal agents killing two civilians. The Republicans’ response to such killings, which involved calling one of the diseased as a “domestic terrorist”, has further alienated them from the electorate and made the crackdown unpopular.
In the latest NPR/PBS/Marist poll, 65 per cent of Americans, including 21 per cent of Republicans, disapproved of Trump’s crackdown on immigrants.
Overall, Trump’s disapproval rating on the economy —his biggest strength historically— has hit a new high of 59 per cent.
Mid-terms losses could derail Trump’s agenda
Since Trump assumed office, Republicans have been on a losing streak and surveys —as shown above— suggest the streak would continue into the mid-terms.
Last year, Republicans lost governors’ elections in New Jersey and Virginia and Democrats won all 13 statewide elections in November. Overall, Democrats flipped 21 per cent of Republican-held legislature seats. And the streak has not ended as Democrats have continued to score victories in deeply Republican pockets.
Last week, Democrat Taylor Rehmet beat Trump-backed Republican candidate by a 14-point margin in a constituency that Trump had won in 2024. Then, over the weekend, Democrat Chasity Verret Martinez won by 24 points in a constituency that Trump had won in 2024.
Even if Republicans lose just one Congressional chamber, the trifecta —when the same party holds the White House and both Congressional chambers— that has allowed Trump to govern without any checks and balances would be over as Democrats would mount Congressional pushback against Trump’s agenda.
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