Republican Chris Madel announced on Monday that he was ending his run for Minnesota governor, pointing to his party's handling of immigration enforcement in his state as his rationale."I cannot support the national Republicans' stated retribution on the citizens of our state,

To be sure, immigration (whether enforcement or otherwise) is not often the number one issue for voters. In the 2025 elections, it was one of the top-five concerns, but it was outranked by the economy, cost of living and/or health care. Still, the issue is only growing in its visibility and salience.

Voters still broadly favor securing the southern border, and they give President Trump credit for that. But 6 in 10 now disapprove of the president’s handling of immigration.

Recent polling shows a widening gap between corporate media narratives and American voters' opinions, especially on immigration enforcement and its political ramifications.

President Donald Trump and his top lieutenants are doubling down on their hardline immigration policies and rhetoric following the shooting of a US citizen by federal officers in Minneapolis — even as the incident has revealed cracks in the president’s coalition.

President Trump is facing signs that his immigration crackdown is losing popularity with American voters as fallout grows from the fatal shooting of a Minnesota woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer this month.

Republicans feel confident that their intertwined messages on crime and immigration will resonate with voters in the midterms. They frequently highlight violent criminals detained or deported, downplaying examples of nonviolent migrants who have been swept up.

President Donald Trump softened his tone Monday on the immigration crackdown in Minnesota, touting productive conversations with the governor and Minneapolis mayor as he sent the border czar to take charge of much of the enforcement effort.