A new survey flies in the face of mainstream headlines revealing strong support among the American people for President Donald Trump’s bold approach to border security and deportation. The survey finds nearly half – 49 percent – of Americans rank President Trump’s job on border security as “excellent”.
The survey, released Sep. 16 by Atlas Intel, shows mixed reviews for President Trump’s approach to certain policies including tariffs and healthcare, but overall Americans trust President Trump to handle immigration, defense, foreign policy, education, taxes, government efficiency and safeguarding democracy.
Nearly half the public says Trump is doing an “excellent” job on the border and over half support his border security according to the survey. 49 percent of Americans say Trump is doing excellent on immigration, while another two percent say he is doing good. Overall Americans say by four points – 51 percent to 47 percent – that President Trump is doing excellent or good on the border.
While Democrats have been highly critical of President Trump’s border security efforts, the American people are the beneficiaries of Trump’s efforts to deport criminals and secure the border. A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memo from Aug. 1 reveals the latest border encounters under President Trump reached a record low for the third time this year in July. DHS reported the lowest nationwide encounters on record, with just 24,630 encounters. As DHS pointed out, this number is almost 90 percent lower than the monthly average under the Biden Administration.
President Trump is also tackling violence in high-crime cities like Los Angeles, despite protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers performing their jobs. A DHS memo from Aug. 27 shows ICE agents have removed 5,000 criminals from Los Angeles since June. These arrests include removing the “worst of the worst” according to DHS, making the city safer for all residents.
The Trump Administration is also ranked well on defense according to the Atlas Intel survey, with 44 percent of voters saying he is doing excellent on the nation’s defense. Americans say by five points – 51 percent to 46 percent – that President Trump is doing excellent or good on defense.
Americans also rank President Trump highly on foreign policy and safeguarding democracy, with 44 percent of Americans saying Trump has done excellent on foreign policy and 43 percent saying he has done excellent on safeguarding democracy. Americans say President Trump has done either excellent or good on foreign policy by four points, 51 percent to 47 percent. Voters also say President Trump has done excellent or good on safeguarding democracy by three points, 51 percent to 48 percent.
On three other major issues – education, taxes, and government efficiency – over 35 percent of Americans say President Trump is doing an excellent job, and he is ranked positively by a plurality of voters. Americans say by two points – 50 percent to 48 percent – that President Trump is doing an excellent or good job on education. Voters say by two points – 50 percent to 48 percent – President Trump is doing excellent or good on taxes. On government efficiency – a category that arguably hasn’t seen the light of day in a presidential administration since Ronald Reagan – President Trump is seen by voters as doing an excellent or good job by two points, 50 percent to 48 percent.
Voters are also weighing in on which party they trust more to handle issues that will be important in the midterm cycle, with Americans saying they trust the GOP over the Democratic Party on seven top issues: crime, immigration, defense, taxes, inflation, foreign policy and jobs.
On crime, Republicans are trusted over Democrats by eleven points, 49 percent to 38 percent, while on immigration, the GOP is trusted by 9 points, 50 percent to 42 percent. The GOP is trusted over Democrats by eight points on defense, 50 percent to 42 percent. Republicans are also trusted over Democrats on foreign policy by three points, 48 percent to 45 percent. Republicans are trusted over Democrats by three points on employment and the job market, 48 percent to 45 percent. On taxes, Republicans are trusted over Democrats by three points, 48 percent to 45 percent, and on inflation/cost of living Republicans are trusted over Democrats by two points, 47 percent to 45 percent.
As much as Democrats are attempting to shift the narrative to perpetuate their destructive agenda, the American people largely support President Donald Trump’s approach to immigration, reducing crime, auding the government and putting America First in foreign policy. Voters rightfully recognize the Democratic Party’s abject failure when it comes to securing the border, eliminating crime in American cities, forcing the government to perform efficiently for the people, reducing the burden of taxation, and navigating the foreign policy landscape. While the Democratic Party holds a historically narrow 3.6 percentage-point-lead in the latest generic Congressional ballot survey, those numbers come into question when Americans trust the Republican Party on a majority of the top modern policy issues leading into the 2026 midterm cycle.
Manzanita Miller is the senior political analyst at Americans for Limited Government Foundation.
