One Year Since 2024 Election: Support for Refugees and Immigrants Grows in the U.S.

It is easy to lose track of time and remember that it was just a year ago when we all found out what the 2024 election results were, when we were thrown into immigration policy mayhem.

The new Trump administration rushed to turn their vitriolic campaign promises into action. They largely shut down refugee resettlement. They are sending masked men to rappel into apartments in the middle of the night to detain families. They are deporting people to countries to which they have never been and where their most basic rights are at risk. They have essentially eliminated access to the U.S. asylum system. They have taken a wrecking ball to valuable humanitarian parole programs and nutrition and health safety nets for refugees and asylees.

Throughout the 2024 election cycle and the first year of their administration, Trump and his surrogates have rooted their vision for America’s future in white nationalist, antisemitic, and xenophobic conspiracy theories. The primary falsehood upon which they premise their cruelty is the toxic lie that Jews and other “elites” are trying to replace white, Christian Americans with immigrants from all over the world for nefarious purposes.

This twisted Great Replacement Theory used to bounce around the far-right corners of the internet with occasional deadly results, including serving as the motivation for the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue building in Pittsburgh seven years ago. Now, following the election, this theory is not reserved for an angry minority. It is no longer on the margins of what is deemed to be acceptable political discourse. Rather, it is fully baked into executive actions, legislation, and political debates in Washington D.C., statehouses, and city halls around the country. In short, hateful conspiracy theories have become policy.

This is undeniably daunting. Yet, in these moments of fear, we can see some light that is starting to crack through the darkness. For example, recent polling from the Refugee Advocacy Lab, Refugees International, and Data for Progress shows that 69% of voters say that they support the U.S. having a refugee resettlement program. That includes 79% of Democrats, 68% of Independents, and 59% of Republicans. Importantly, this polling shows an increase in support for resettlement from the poll that was conducted in 2024. The increase in support among Democrats and Independents was nominal, but among Republicans, support jumped from 47% in 2024 to 59% now.

In addition, recent New York Times/Siena polling is illustrative of the need for nuanced approaches to complex immigration issues. It shows that how deportations work really matters. Fifty-three percent of the respondents think that the deportation process as it is currently being run has not been fair; and 51% said that the administration’s immigration enforcement has “gone too far.”

I get it. It’s hard to get too excited about polling numbers. However, this polling shows us something about which we can get excited, and that is a base upon which to organize and advocate. These results remind us that the American electorate has not given the administration a blank check to implement immigration policy with no limits.

One year after the election, this polling reminds all of us that this is not the time to falter. As unwavering as the administration is with their intent to turn this country’s treatment of immigrants into something unrecognizable, there is a growing number of people across party lines who are saying not on our watch. Perhaps most importantly, these results show us that if we continue to come together, even in the face of significant headwinds, and stand for and demand humane and welcoming immigration and refugee policies, there is hope for real progress.