Houston Daily

About half of Texas registered voters support the immigration policies and enforcement actions of the Trump administration, according to a new survey by the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs and Texas Southern University’s Executive Master of Public Administration program. The survey found that 51% of voters approve of these policies, while 49% disapprove.

Approval for certain enforcement measures was even higher. The survey showed that 58% support sending the U.S. military to the border, and 54% back the use of state and local law enforcement to assist with immigration detention efforts. Opinions on workplace immigration raids were evenly divided, with half approving and half disapproving.

Renée Cross, researcher and senior executive director of the Hobby School, said, “As residents of a border state, Texans are long familiar with immigration as a political and law enforcement issue. It has been a priority for Gov. Greg Abbott and the Legislature, with more than $11 billion of Texas taxpayer money spent to cover the cost of Operation Lone Star, the state initiative to secure the border, since 2021. And while a sizeable number of voters disapprove of some of the federal government’s efforts to staunch illegal entry, overall, we found strong support for actions to limit immigration.”

A majority—58%—believe undocumented residents should not be allowed to pay in-state tuition at public colleges and universities. This policy, in place since 2001, ended in June after the Trump administration sued on constitutional grounds and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton agreed.

Mark P. Jones, political science fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and senior research fellow at the Hobby School, commented on voters’ views about enforcement’s effects: “Almost half, or 46%, say increased enforcement will reduce crime, while 29% think it will have no impact and 25% say it will increase crime,” Jones said. “People are also divided on the economic impact, as 47% expect the immigration policies to weaken the economy, while 41% say they will strengthen it.” Another 12% believe there will be no economic effect.

The survey revealed divisions along racial, ethnic, gender, age, and partisan lines regarding these policies. Michael O. Adams, director of TSU’s Executive Master of Public Administration program noted: “Men were 13 percentage points more likely than women to approve of President Trump’s immigration policies, at 58% to 45%. White voters were similarly more likely to approve than Latino or Black voters.” Specifically, approval rates were highest among white voters (62%), compared to Latino (42%) and Black voters (23%). Republican approval stood at nine out of ten; among Democrats it was just 13%, and among independents it was 39%.

One policy received less support: only 42% approved suspending most asylum applications while 58% disapproved. Pablo Pinto, director of the Center for Public Policy at the Hobby School said: “Limiting asylum was the least popular of the policies included in the survey. People may want something done about illegal immigration, but they are perhaps less comfortable with ending the ability of most people from around the world to apply for asylum.” Even among Republicans and those who voted for Trump in 2024—typically supportive groups—approval for limiting asylum was relatively low (78% and 72%, respectively).

The survey included responses from 1,650 registered Texas voters between September 19 and October 1 in both English and Spanish; its margin of error is +/-2.41%. The full report is available on the Hobby School website.

Previous surveys from this research partnership examined voter concerns about redistricting and preferences in major statewide races; future reports will focus on household energy use.