A recent poll reveals that the general public largely supports the Trump administration’s initiatives to track down and expel illegal immigrants. However, there is a division among Americans regarding the extent to which they want the federal government to pursue such actions.

Overall, 54% of US adults approve of the deportation effort compared to 46% who disapprove of it, according to the CBS News/YouGov survey.

The survey took place shortly before Los Angeles was engulfed in riots over the weekend due to the federal government’s immigration enforcement operations. In response to the escalating situation, President Trump deployed the National Guard and intensified pressure on local authorities to quell the turmoil.

New York City also was hit by by a mob trying to prevent authorities from conducting immigration raids.

Various polls have consistently shown that immigration is a significant concern for both President Trump and the American population. This poses a challenge for Democrats in their attempts to counter Trump’s aggressive deportation agenda.

The poll found that Americans currently have a dismal view of Democrats.

A whopping 78% of all respondents called Dem leaders “ineffective” — including 71% of Democrats.

Still, despite generally favoring Trump’s immigration policies, Americans are torn over some of the nuances in his initiatives, the survey showed.

About 42% said they believe his deportation policies are making Americans feel safer, compared to 30% who said less safe and 27% who said there was no change, according to the survey.

Roughly half of respondents said they believe that Trump has been deporting more people than they would have expected, even given his 2024 campaign rhetoric. Of that bloc, 42% said they approve of the number while 58% disapprove.

Of the other chunk of voters who felt that Trump was deporting about the same or fewer people than expected, 66% approved, compared to 34% who disapproved.

A solid 63% want illegal immigrants to get a hearing before being deported. Also, about 39% of voters feel Trump’s deportation policies are harming the US economy, compared to 32% of feel its strengthening it.

Trump has been pushing Congress to send him more resources to expand the deportation effort and adequately secure the US-Mexico border.

On the issue of immigration broadly, Trump notched a 50% approval rating, which tops his scorecard on the economy (42%) and overall approval rating (45%).

Historically, the economy had been a strong suit for Trump, both during his first term and in the 2024 campaign cycle/ The recent public cooling to his performance seemingly dovetails with unease over his tariff policy.

Only 41% of those polled said they favor new tariffs on imported goods, compared to 59% who oppose them.

Perhaps more troubling for Trump, 75% felt that the tariffs would help the wealthy.

A similar dynamic took place when voters were questioned about Trump’s proposed One Big Beautiful Bill Act. A firm 60% felt it would help the rich, 31% said the middle class and 26% said the lower class. A third of voters weren’t aware of what was in the megabill, and 23% said they only had a minimal sense of it.

The megabill features an extension of much of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, enhanced border security, bolstered defense spending, energy reform and a bevy of other conservative wish-list items.

The CBS News/YouGov survey sampled 2,428 adults between June 4-6, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percentage points.