Half of Latinos say their situation in the U.S. has worsened over the past year, up from 32% in the weeks after Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election and the highest level since the Great Recession.¹ In addition, more say they have serious concerns about their place in American society now (49%) than in 2017 (41%). And a majority (55%) say they are worried that they, a family member or close friend could be deported.

Many blame the current administration for what they see as the worsening situation of Hispanics, the nation’s largest minority group. Two-thirds (67%) say the administration’s policies have been harmful to Hispanics – a much higher share than during the administration of either Democrat Barack Obama (15% in 2010) or Republican George W. Bush (41% in 2007).² Overall, six-in-ten Hispanics (62%) say they are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the country today, up since 2017 and the highest level since the Great Recession a decade ago, when 70% of Hispanics said they were dissatisfied with the nation’s direction.

And yet, attitudes among Latinos are not monolithic. Slightly less than a quarter of Latinos (23%) identify as Republican or describe themselves as leaning Republican. Among this group, six-in-ten (59%) approve of President Trump’s job performance, compared with just 8% of Latino Democrats who say the same.³ In addition, half as many Latino Republicans as Latino Democrats (28% vs. 57%) say the Hispanic population’s situation has grown worse over the past year.

Notably, partisan differences do not extend to voting. In each partisan camp, about six-in-ten (59%) registered voters say they are more enthusiastic about voting in the upcoming midterms than in the last congressional elections. This year, more than 29 million Latinos are eligible to vote, up from 25 million in 2014.

Half of Hispanic adults (49%) are foreign born, and as a group they have stronger concern than those born in the U.S. Immigrants are more likely than U.S.-born Hispanics to say they have serious concerns about their place in U.S. society (57% vs. 42%), and they worry a lot or some about deportation (66% vs. 43%). Foreign-born Hispanics are also more pronounced in their criticism of the Trump administration: 71% say White House policies have been harmful to Hispanics as a group, compared with 63% of U.S.-born Hispanics who say the same.

These are among the key findings from a new nationally representative, bilingual telephone survey of 1,501 Hispanic adults, conducted by cellular and landline telephone from July 26 to Sept. 9, 2018, by SSRS for Pew Research Center. The survey’s margin of error for the full sample is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at the 95% confidence interval.

Latinos’ downbeat assessments extend to their own economic situations. Asked about their personal finances, only a third rate their situation as excellent or good, down from 40% who said the same in 2015. And when it comes to the next generation, the share who say their children will be better off financially than they are has declined from 72% to 54% over the same three-year period. These signs of waning economic confidence contrast with government data showing Latino unemployment at historic lows and Latino household incomes increasing faster than for other groups.

Beyond economic considerations, a majority (54%) of Hispanics say it has become more difficult in recent years to be Hispanic in the U.S. This feeling is even more pervasive among foreign-born Hispanics (64%) than among the U.S. born (44%). And nearly four-in-ten Hispanics say they have experienced at least one of four offensive incidents in the past year because of their Hispanic background, although about as many note that someone has expressed support for them because they are Hispanic. For the 38% of Hispanics who say they have experienced an incident, these comprise: experiencing discrimination or unfair treatment because of their Hispanic background, being criticized for speaking Spanish in public, being told to go back to their home country, or being called offensive names. Immigrant Hispanics are more likely than U.S.-born Hispanics to report they have experienced most of these incidents.

Individual experiences of discrimination notwithstanding, the survey finds Hispanics are overwhelmingly proud of their heritage (97%). Strong majorities also express pride in being American (84%). Asked if they could do it again today, 70% of Hispanics born in another country or in Puerto Rico said that they would migrate, or leave Puerto Rico, for the U.S. They also continue to see the U.S. as a better place to get ahead (85%) and a better place to raise children (73%) than their countries of origin or Puerto Rico.

The nation’s Latino population stands at nearly 59 million and is one of the youngest and fastest-growing groups in the U.S. Its composition is also changing as the foreign-born share has fallen and U.S. births now drive growth. Overall about one-third of all Latinos are foreign born. Among the about 19 million Latino immigrants, some 8 million are unauthorized immigrants.

During the first 18 months of the Donald Trump presidency, an increased number of Hispanics see a worsening situation for themselves and Hispanics overall, as well as an erosion of their optimism about the future financial well-being of their children. This is particularly true for foreign-born Latinos, especially those who are not U.S. citizens. Latino views of their place in America and their personal finances have also declined in recent years.

At the same time, however, a large majority of Hispanics say they are proud to be both Hispanic and American, and they continue to see the U.S. as a land with better opportunities than their country of origin. Among Hispanics born in other countries or Puerto Rico, a large majority would make the move to the mainland U.S. all over again, given the opportunity to do so.

More worry about their place in America, especially immigrants

Latinos are split about their place in America a year and a half into the Trump administration. About half (49%) say they have serious concerns about their place in America now that Donald Trump is president, while 46% say they are confident about their place in America.

The share of those concerned is up and the share who express confidence is down in 2018, compared with a survey taken in January 2017, before Trump took office. At that time, 41% of Latinos said they were concerned about their place in America while 54% said they were confident about it.

This growth in worry about their place in America is driven by a rise in concern among immigrants, those with no college education and independent voters who do not identify with or lean toward either the Republican or the Democratic parties.

In 2018, Latinos most concerned about their place in America are foreign born. Among immigrant Latinos, 57% say they are concerned, compared with 42% of those born in the U.S. Of the foreign born, those who are not U.S. citizens and do not hold a green card have the most concern, compared with Latino immigrants who are U.S. citizens and those who are lawful permanent residents.

There are also some differences by party affiliation and gender. Hispanic adults who identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party (57%) are significantly more likely to say they are concerned about their place in America than those who identify with or lean toward the Republican Party (26%). In addition, Hispanic women are more likely to express such concern (55%) than Hispanic men (43%).

Rising share say situation of Hispanics in the U.S. is worsening

In the past five years, the share of Hispanics who see the state of U.S. Hispanics worsening has grown dramatically and now rivals the negative views expressed in 2008, during the Great Recession.

Nearly half (47%) of Hispanics say the situation of U.S. Hispanics is worse than it was a year earlier, up sharply from 15% in 2013. This change in views is more dramatic among some groups of Hispanics: Democrats, women and those with at least a high school education.

In 2018, a majority (57%) of Hispanic Democrats say the situation of Hispanics in the U.S. has worsened in the past year, up from 12% who said the same in 2013. By contrast, the share of Hispanic Republicans who say Hispanics’ situation has worsened is 28%, up moderately from 18% in 2013.

The views among Hispanic women about the situation of Hispanics in the U.S. have also grown sour in the past five years, more so than among Hispanic men, though such sentiment is up in both groups.

Life in the U.S. as a Latino

When it comes to living in the U.S., a majority (54%) says it has become more difficult to live in the country as a Latino in recent years, while 42% say things haven’t changed much. Among the most likely to say that it has become more difficult for Latinos are those who are foreign born, those who are Spanish-dominant speakers and those who are not citizens. About two-thirds of each group says so.

For their part, Latino Democrats (61%) are twice as likely as Latino Republicans (30%) to say it has become more difficult to be Latino in the U.S. in recent years.

Latinos have grown pessimistic about their finances despite an improved national economy

The U.S. economy has improved in recent years, Latinos’ household income is at a record high, unemployment among U.S. Latinos is at a record low and poverty levels among Latinos have dropped. Even so, Latino adults are more downbeat about their current financial situation today than they were three years ago, according to the new survey.

In 2015, 40% of Latinos said their personal financial situation was in “excellent” or “good” shape; today only 33% say the same. By contrast, assessments of personal finances are up among the general U.S. public.

The decrease in the share of Hispanics rating their personal finances as excellent or good in the past three years is greater among certain subgroups.

Hispanic men and women had similar ratings of their finances in 2015, but in 2018, women rated their situation lower. For their part, Hispanic young adults ages 18 to 29 used to rate their finances in a more positive light than older Hispanics three years ago (48% vs. 37%, respectively), but now their assessments resemble those of Hispanics ages 30 to 64 (33% vs. 32% respectively). From 2015 to 2018, positive financial ratings also fell among Hispanic Democrats but were stable for Hispanic Republicans.

But perhaps a more remarkable change is the grim forecast Latino adults paint when looking into their financial future. Today, about six-in-ten (62%) say they expect their personal financial situation to improve in the coming year, down 19 percentage points from three years ago (81%) and at the lowest level recorded since the Center first asked this question in 2004. Even during the Great Recession, when finances of Latinos were doing poorly, about two-thirds of Latinos expected their personal finances would improve the following year.

This turn in attitudes is more notable as Hispanics’ views of their personal finances in the future have consistently been more positive than assessments among the general public. However, in 2018, members of the U.S. general public were more likely than Hispanics (68% vs. 62%) to say they expect their finances to improve in the coming year.

The drop in financial optimism observed in the past three years is larger among some subgroups of Latinos. They include immigrants and their U.S.-born children, those with lower levels of education and Democrats. By contrast, financial optimism remained mostly unchanged among Republican Latinos.

The downcast view of their own financial future extends to that of their children. Today only 54% of Latinos say they expect their children will be better off financially than themselves, a sharp reduction from 72% who said the same in 2015.

The reduction in optimism for the financial well-being of their children is larger among some Hispanics, especially those without college education, immigrants, those third generation or higher, naturalized U.S. citizens and women.

Financial optimism for their children declined more dramatically among immigrant Hispanics than their U.S.-born counterparts. For their part, U.S.-born Hispanics with U.S.-born parents had similar financial optimism as U.S.-born Hispanics with immigrant parents three years ago but now are markedly less optimistic. U.S.-born Hispanics with immigrant parents are also more optimistic today about their children’s financial future than are Hispanic immigrants. Among foreign-born Hispanics, those who have become U.S. citizens had a sharper dive in optimism about their children’s future (from 77% to 50%) than did non-citizens (from 74% to 55%). Among Hispanic women, optimism for intergenerational progress fell more dramatically between 2015 and 2018 than among Hispanic men, creating a gender gap on this question.

Hispanics are proud of their Hispanic identity – and proud to be American

Despite their pessimistic view of their current situation in the country and their diminished optimism about their children’s future, large majorities of Hispanics in the U.S. express pride in their ethnic and national identities, and still see the U.S. as a place with better opportunities than their countries of origin. Fully 97% agree with the statement, “I am proud to be Hispanic.” And 84% say they completely or mostly agree with the statement, “I am proud to be an American.” The survey also finds that 82% agree with both statements, saying they are proud to be Hispanic and proud to be American.

Their pride in being American varies across some demographic groups, even though large majorities express this. Ties to the U.S. matter when it comes to expressing pride in being American: U.S.-born Hispanics are more likely than the foreign born to say they are proud of being American (91% vs. 77%). Among immigrant Latinos, those who are U.S. citizens (93%) are just as likely as the U.S. born to say they are proud of their adopted nationality, while those who have a green card (72%) are more likely to express pride in being American than those who are neither citizens nor permanent residents (61%).

Although most Latinos say that life in the U.S. has become harder for Latinos, seven-in-ten immigrant Latinos or those who moved to the U.S. from Puerto Rico say that, given the opportunity, they would come to the U.S. again, while 17% say they would stay in their home country or Puerto Rico, and 11% say they would move to a different country.

Compared with 2011, when the question was last asked, the share who say they would come to the U.S. again is down, while the share saying they would move to a different country is up.

When asked to assess how the U.S. compares with their country of origin, 85% of Hispanics say the opportunity to get ahead is better in the U.S., with similar shares among those who immigrated to the U.S. and those who were born here. Similarly, about three-in-four (74%) Hispanics say the conditions for raising children are better in the U.S. than they are in their country of origin. In both instances, opinions are unchanged since 2011 when the question was last asked.

Puerto Ricans have less positive views of the U.S. than do Hispanics from other origins. Those who moved to the U.S. from Puerto Rico are less likely than Hispanics who migrated from another country to say they would move again if given the opportunity (54% vs. 71%). Three-in-four Puerto Ricans (74%) say the opportunity to get ahead is better in the U.S. than in the U.S. territory, compared with 86% of Hispanics who are not Puerto Rican. Similarly, 54% of Puerto Ricans believe the U.S. has better conditions for raising children, compared with 76% of Hispanics of other origins.

Overall, four-in-ten Latinos say they have experienced discrimination in the past year, such as being criticized for speaking Spanish or being told to go back to their home country. These experiences are more likely among those who say others see them as Latino, black or another non-white group than among Latinos who say others see them as white. At the same time, just as many Latinos say someone in the past year had expressed support for them because they are Latino.

Many Hispanics say others see them as Hispanic

About two-thirds of U.S. Hispanics (68%) say that if people passed them on the street they would describe them as Hispanic or Latino. Hispanics who are foreign born (79%) and second generation (68%) are more likely than the third or higher generation (50%) to say this.

Meanwhile, about one-in-five Hispanics (18%) say people passing them on the street would describe them as white. This share increases as immigrant connections grow distant. About 10% of Hispanic immigrants say a person would describe them as white, while 16% of the second generation and 33% of the third or higher generation say the same.

Many Hispanics with lower levels of education also say those passing them on the street would see them as Hispanic or Latino. About three-quarters of Hispanics with a high school diploma or less (77%) say this, compared with 56% of those with some college education or higher. By contrast, about a quarter of Hispanics with some college education or higher (27%) say people passing them on the street would describe them as white, compared with 12% of those with a high school education or less.

Latino experiences with discrimination in the past year

Nearly four-in-10 Latinos (37%) say that during the past 12 months, someone has expressed support for them because they are Hispanic or Latino. Yet about the same share (38%) also say they have recently experienced one of four incidents – being called offensive names, being told to go back to their home country, being criticized for speaking Spanish in public, or experiencing discrimination or unfair treatment because they are Hispanic.

Overall, about a quarter of Latinos (24%) say someone has discriminated against them or treated them unfairly because of their background, while 22% say someone has criticized them for speaking Spanish in public. About 20% say they have been told to go back to their home country, and about 16% say they have been called offensive names.

Hispanic immigrants and second-generation Hispanics (those born in the U.S. to at least one immigrant parent) report more often than third or higher generation Hispanics being subjected to three of the four incidents asked about in the survey – being criticized for speaking Spanish, being told to go back to their home country and experiencing discrimination or unfair treatment.

The share of Latinos who say they have received an expression of support over the past year is higher among Spanish-dominant (44%) and bilingual speakers (39%) than among English-dominant speakers (27%). The bilingual and Spanish dominant also reported more discrimination. About a quarter of Latinos who are bilingual (28%) and Spanish dominant (25%) say they have experienced discrimination or been treated unfairly, compared with 19% of English-dominant Latinos.

For Hispanics, the way the world views their race or ethnicity is linked to how often people express support for them and how often they experience discrimination.

Latinos who say people walking past them on the street would see them as Hispanic or Latino or as black are more likely to say someone expressed support for them in the past year because they are Latino. Those who say others see them as white are less likely to say this has happened. A similar pattern is true when it comes to experiencing discrimination: Those who say others see them as white are less likely than other groups of Latinos to report experiencing one of the four incidents asked about in the survey.

Differences also exist by party affiliation among Hispanics – more Democrats (43%) than Republicans (24%) say they have experienced at least one of the four incidents.

Hispanic dissatisfaction with the direction of the U.S. has grown markedly in the past year. This pessimism extends across different ages, educational levels and immigrant generations, with Democrats and women reporting some of the highest levels of dissatisfaction in 2018, according to the new Pew Research Center survey of Hispanic adults. Overall, Hispanics are now as dissatisfied as the general public with the nation’s direction, a sharp reversal from previous years. In addition, Hispanics say the economy and immigration are the most important problems facing the nation today, with Donald Trump and racism also cited as pressing issues.

Hispanics more pessimistic about country’s direction

Six-in-ten Hispanics (62%) say they are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the country today, up from 50% in 2017. Hispanic dissatisfaction is the highest since 2008 during the Great Recession, when 70% were dissatisfied with the direction of the country.

Hispanics have long been more optimistic than the U.S. public on this measure. This changed in 2018. As Hispanics have become more dissatisfied with the direction of the U.S., the general public has become less dissatisfied. In 2018, 61% of the U.S. public was dissatisfied with the country’s direction, down from 68% in 2017. This drop in dissatisfaction coincides with the rising share who say national economic conditions are excellent or good.

Hispanic women are significantly more dissatisfied than Hispanic men, 72% to 51%, with the way things are going in the country today. Women have registered a dramatic increase in a single year, with the share dissatisfied jumping up from 54% in 2017 – an increase of 18 percentage points. The share dissatisfied among Hispanic men, by contrast, increased by a more modest 5 percentage points over the same period.

Hispanic views on the state of U.S. differ by party affiliation

As is the case with the general public, Hispanic views on issues vary by political party affiliation. Hispanic Democrats are now more dissatisfied with the nation’s direction than Hispanic Republicans, a reversal from just two years ago.

In 2018, seven-in-ten Hispanics who identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party (71%) say they are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the country today, up from 60% in 2017 and 43% in 2016. Levels of dissatisfaction for this group have reached their highest level since the Great Recession and its aftermath.

By contrast, less than half of Hispanics who identify with or lean toward the Republican Party (40%) say they are dissatisfied with the way things are going with the country today, down from 60% in 2017.

Hispanics say immigration, economy are the nation’s most pressing problems

When asked an open-ended question about issues, Hispanics say those related to immigration and the economy are the most important problems facing the country today.

One-in-five Hispanics (20%) say issues related to immigration are the most important problem facing the nation, with family separation and deportation among the issues cited. Another 20% of Hispanics say issues related to the economy are the most important problem, with the country’s wealth gap and unemployment among the issues mentioned. Lower shares say President Trump (8%) and race relations or racism (7%) are the nation’s most pressing problems.

On immigration issues, more Hispanic immigrants (26%) than U.S.-born Hispanics (14%) cite it as the most important problem facing the country. Among Hispanic immigrants, 31% of non-citizens (a group that counts those with a green card as well as those without one) say the same, compared with 18% of naturalized U.S. citizens. Notably, similar shares of Hispanic Democrats (19%) and Hispanic Republicans (22%) say immigration is the most important problem facing the country.

Hispanics broadly agree that the economy is one of the most important problems facing the country today. About a fifth of Hispanics say this across different groups, including gender, political party, immigrant generation and citizenship status among immigrants.

When Hispanic registered voters are asked about the nation’s most pressing problem, they cite the same four issues as Hispanics overall: the economy (19%), immigration (16%), racism and discrimination (10%) and Donald Trump (10%). Similar shares of Hispanic registered voters across different groups, including gender, political party, citizenship status among immigrants, cite immigration as the nation’s most important problem.

When Hispanics in the U.S. were surveyed last year, shortly before the inauguration of Donald Trump, about half said they worried that they or someone they knew could be deported. In a new survey this year, that share rose to a majority of all Hispanics – and fully two-thirds of Hispanic immigrants.

The new survey also finds that, compared with 2010, a larger share of Latinos are talking about the immigration policy debate with people they know. Latinos overall are not more likely to report participating in protests or demonstrations over immigrant rights since Donald Trump took office than in the past.

Hispanics overall are less likely than a decade ago to say that the U.S. has too many immigrants. They are more willing than the general public to favor granting legal status to unauthorized immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. And they are more likely than the general public to oppose expanding the U.S.-Mexico border wall.

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Hispanics have very close ties to immigration. In 2017, about one-in-three (35%) Hispanics living in the U.S. were immigrants, while a similar share (32%) had at least one parent who moved to the U.S. from another country.

More than half of Latinos say they worry about deportation

A majority of Hispanics in the U.S. (55%), regardless of legal status, say they worry “a lot” or “some” that they, a family member or a close friend could be deported, up from 47% who said the same in 2017.

Hispanics who are immigrants themselves or have immigrant parents are more likely than U.S.-born Hispanics to say they worry about deportation. Fully two-thirds (66%) of immigrant Hispanics say they worry about deportation, compared with 43% of those who were born in the U.S. The share rises to 78% among those who are likely unauthorized immigrants – that is, they are not U.S. citizens and they do not have a green card.

Latinos who speak Spanish as their primary language are also more likely to worry about deportation than those who speak English as their primary language. In addition, Democratic Latinos are almost twice as likely as Republican Latinos to say they worry about deportation.

In the first eight months of the Trump administration, immigration arrests in the interior of the U.S., particularly of immigrants without a criminal background, increased by 42% over the same period the year before. This year, the Trump administration started a zero-tolerance policy (later revised) that led to the separation of thousands of families after crossing the border illegally. However, the number of deportations under Trump are still below record levels reached during the Obama administration.

Immigration debate and participation in protests

About seven-in-ten Latinos (71%) say they have talked about the immigration policy debate with family, friends or coworkers since Trump became president, 9 percentage points higher than those who said so in 2010 (62%). The current survey was taken as the Trump administration is restricting or attempting to restrict immigration and has adopted enforcement policies at the border aimed at reducing the number of immigrants crossing illegally and those seeking asylum in the U.S. The 2010 survey was taken shortly Arizona enacted a controversial law (most of which was later blocked by the courts) to reduce the number of unauthorized immigrants.

Fully 80% of Latinos who are registered to vote in the coming midterm elections say they have talked about the immigration debate, compared with 64% of those not registered to vote.

Latinos who were born in the U.S. or have at least some college education are more likely than their counterparts to have talked about immigration policy. In addition, Latinos ages 18 to 29 are most likely to say (79%) they have talked about immigration than most older groups.

When asked about participating in a protest or demonstration to support immigrant rights, 16% of Latinos say they have done so since Trump became president (about the same share who said that in 2010).

Some subgroups among Latinos are more likely than others to report having done this. About one-in-four Latinos ages 18 to 29 (23%) have participated in a protest, a higher share than in other age groups.

Also, a higher share of Latino Democrats than Republicans say they have participated in a protest.

Similarly, those who are U.S. born are more likely than immigrants to say they have participated in a demonstration. Among those born in the U.S., Latinos with at least one immigrant parent (28%) are significantly more likely to have participated in a demonstration than those without an immigrant parent (14%).

In addition, 19% of Latinos who are registered to vote said they have attended an immigrant rights demonstration, a number similar to those who are not registered to vote (15%).

Hispanics and the number of immigrants in the U.S.

Thinking about the number of immigrants living in the U.S. today, Latinos have dramatically shifted their views from a decade ago. Today, about half of Latinos (48%) believe there is about the right amount of immigrants living in the U.S., while a quarter say there are too many immigrants and 14% say there are too few. By comparison, in 2007 (the last time this question was asked), Latinos were split between saying there were too many immigrants (42%) and the right amount (41%). Only 9% thought there were too few.

There are differences in these views among certain groups of Latinos. For example, Republican Latinos are more likely than Democrat Latinos to say there are too many immigrants.

Meanwhile, Latinos ages 65 and older are about as likely to say there are too many immigrants as that there is the right amount, while in other age groups the largest share says the amount of immigrants is right.

Another key factor linked to attitudes about the number of immigrants is education. Latinos with lower levels of education are more likely than those with at least some college education to say too many immigrants are living in the country today.

Views of immigration policies

Latinos have stronger ties to their immigrant roots than the U.S. general public, and their views about recently discussed immigration policies reflect this. Compared with the general public, a larger majority of Latinos are in favor of granting legal permanent residence to unauthorized immigrants who were brought to this country as children (87% among Latinos vs. 73% among the general public) and oppose substantially expanding the wall at the U.S.-Mexico border (75% among Latinos vs. 56% of the general public).

Latinos who are immigrants or whose parents immigrated are especially likely to favor granting legal status to immigrants who came to this country as children. Fully 93% of Latino immigrants favor expanding the protections for childhood arrivals, compared with 81% of those born in the U.S. Among the foreign born, nearly all (96%) of those who are not U.S. citizens support this initiative, compared with 88% of those who are naturalized citizens.

Among those born in the U.S., those who have an immigrant parent are more likely to support granting legal status (88%) than those whose parents were born in the U.S. (75%). In addition, Latinos who predominantly speak Spanish are more likely to favor this policy (95%) than those who are bilingual (86%) or are predominantly English speakers (81%).

Hispanics who are immigrants themselves or have at least one immigrant parent are also more likely to oppose expanding the border wall. About eight-in-ten (81%) immigrant Hispanics oppose expanding the wall, compared with about seven-in-ten (69%) of those born in the U.S. Among the U.S. born, three-in-four (75%) second-generation Hispanics oppose expanding the wall at the border versus 64% of Hispanics who are third generation or more.

Hispanics of Mexican origin are also more likely to oppose the wall (80%) than are those of other origins (68%). In addition, Hispanic Democrats are significantly more likely to oppose this policy than are Hispanic Republicans (87% versus 46%).

The new Pew Research Center survey of Hispanics finds many disapprove of how President Trump is doing his job, though not all Latinos agree.

Most Hispanics disapprove of the job Trump is doing as president

Latinos’ assessment of President Trump’s job performance is lower than that of the U.S. public. Only 22% of Latinos say they approve of the way Trump is handling his job as president, while 69% say they disapprove. By comparison, among the general U.S. public, 38% say they approve of the job Trump is doing as president while 55% disapprove.

Latinos’ views of President Trump’s job performance vary greatly by party affiliation and by whether they are satisfied with the country’s direction. A majority of Latinos who identify with or lean toward the Republican Party approve of the president’s job performance (59%), compared with just 8% of those who identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party. In addition, about half (49%) of Latinos who say they are satisfied with the country’s direction approve of Trump’s job performance, compared with just 7% of those who say they are dissatisfied with the direction of the country.

Differences are also seen among Hispanics by nativity and by gender. Among immigrant Hispanics, only 16% say they approve of how Trump is handling his job as president, compared with 28% among the U.S. born. In addition, only 15% of Hispanic women say they approve of the president’s job performance, compared with 28% among Hispanic men.

Many of these same patterns exist among Latino registered voters. Overall, 25% of Latino voters say they approve of the president’s job performance, while 70% say they disapprove.

Trump administration policies viewed as harmful to Hispanics

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Views of the impact of administration policies on Hispanics largely reflect partisan divisions among Hispanics. Fully 81% of Hispanic Democrats say Trump administration policies have been harmful to Hispanics, compared with just 36% of Hispanic Republicans who say the same.

Among U.S. Latinos, those with closer ties to immigration are more likely to say the administration’s policies have been harmful. About seven-in-ten immigrant Latinos (71%) say this, compared with 63% of those born in the U.S. Among the U.S. born, second-generation Latinos, the children of immigrant parents, are more likely to view Trump administration policies as harmful to Latinos than those of the third or higher generations (67% vs. 58%).

During the 2018 midterm election season, Hispanic registered voters show signs of being more engaged than in past midterms. According to the new survey, more Hispanic voters today say they have given “quite a lot” of thought to the coming election than they did in 2014 and 2010, and a majority of these voters say they are more enthusiastic about voting in this election than they typically are in midterm elections. At the same time, the number of U.S. Hispanics eligible to vote (U.S. citizens ages 18 years and older) has reached a record 29.1 million, up by 4 million since 2014 alone.

This enthusiasm stands in contrast to trends in Hispanic voting in recent midterms. In 2014, Hispanics cast a record 6.8 million ballots out of 25 million eligible voters, for a voter turnout rate of 27%. But that was far below the turnout rate among blacks (41%) and whites (46%) that year. It was also down from 2010, when 31% of Hispanic eligible voters turned out to vote.

Latinos more engaged in 2018 midterms than prior ones

Overall, 52% of Latino registered voters say they have given the coming November midterm elections “quite a lot” of thought, a 16 percentage point increase from what they said about the last midterms in 2014. Even so, Hispanic registered voters’ interest in the midterm elections lags behind their level of interest in past presidential elections (as it does for all voters). In 2016, 67% of Latino registered voters said they had thought “quite a lot” about that year’s election, while in 2012 61% said the same.

Interest in the midterms varies greatly among subgroups of Hispanic registered voters. About six-in-ten (63%) Hispanic voters with some college education or more have given a lot of thought to the coming midterm elections, compared with 39% of those with a high school diploma and 37% of those with less than a high school education.

In addition, Hispanics ages 30 and older are more engaged than their younger peers, as 56% have given the elections a lot of thought, compared with 40% of those 29 or younger.

Another result from the survey – responses to a question about enthusiasm – shows the increased engagement of the Latino electorate this year compared with previous midterm elections. A majority (55%) of Latino registered voters say they are more enthusiastic about voting this year than in previous congressional elections, while 32% say they are less enthusiastic and 11% volunteer that they are as enthusiastic as usual.

Among Latino registered voters, those with at least some college education are more enthusiastic about voting this year than those with a high school education or less . Also, Latinos born in the U.S. are more likely than naturalized immigrants to say they are more enthusiastic this time around (58% vs. 47%).

Latinos and their views of the political parties

The Democratic Party has lost ground since 2016 among Latino registered voters.

In 2018, about half (48%) of Latino registered voters say the Democratic Party has more concern for Latinos than the Republican Party. Meanwhile, about a third (32%) say there is no difference between the parties, and just 14% say the Republican Party has more concern.

But the share of Hispanic registered voters who say the Democratic Party has more concern for Hispanics is down from a recent high in 2015, when 59% of Hispanic registered voters said the Democratic Party had more concern for Hispanics. Meanwhile, the share of Hispanic voters who see no difference between parties is up, from 22% in 2015 to 32% today.

Views on the concern parties have for Latinos vary by party affiliation. Among Latino registered voters, 72% of those who identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party say their own party has more concern for Latinos, and 24% say there is no difference. Meanwhile, 45% of Latino voters who identify with or lean toward the Republican Party say the Republican Party has more concern for Latinos, and 40% say there is no difference between the parties.

Party affiliation among Latino registered voters has changed since 2012, when there was a spike for Democrats. In 2018, 62% of Latino voters identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party.

Meanwhile, the share of Latino registered voters who identify with or lean toward the Republican Party has rebounded from a low of 20% in 2011 to 27% today.

Among Latino registered voters, those who primarily speak English are more likely to align themselves with the Republican Party (33%) than those who are Spanish dominant (15%).

Hispanics voter preferences for the coming midterm elections

According to a survey of U.S. adults conducted in September 2018 by Pew Research Center, if the election for Congress were held today, 63% of Latino registered voters say they would support the Democratic congressional candidate in their district, while 29% say they would support the Republican candidate. Among all Latino registered voters, Democrats hold a two-to-one margin over Republicans this year.

The share of Latino registered voters who say they would vote for the Democratic candidate is up from 2014; support for the Republican candidate remains unchanged.

This report was written by Mark Hugo Lopez, director of global migration and demography research; Ana Gonzalez-Barrera, senior researcher; and Jens Manuel Krogstad, senior writer/editor. Editorial guidance was provided by James Bell, vice president for global strategy; Claudia Deane, vice president for research; and D’Vera Cohn, senior writer/editor. Gonzalez-Barrera and Jynnah Radford, research assistant, managed the development of the report’s survey questionnaire. Courtney Kennedy, director of survey research, and Jocelyn Kiley, associate director, research, provided guidance on the questionnaire’s development.

Charts for the report were produced by Radford; Alissa Scheller, information graphics designer; and Michael Keegan, senior information graphics designer. Radford produced the survey’s topline. Research assistants Antonio Flores and Abby Budiman and intern Luis Noe-Bustamante number-checked the report. Ariana Rodriguez-Gitler, digital producer, assisted with formatting and production. Marcia Kramer copy edited the report.

Find related reports online at pewresearch.org/pewresearch-org/hispanic.

Results for this study are based on telephone interviews conducted by SSRS, an independent research company, for Pew Research Center among a nationally representative sample of 1,501 Latino respondents ages 18 and older. It was conducted on cellular and landline telephones from July 26 through September 9, 2018.

For the full sample, a total of 742 respondents were U.S. born (including Puerto Rico), and 759 were foreign born (excluding Puerto Rico). For results based on the total sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the error attributable to sampling is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

For this survey, SSRS used a staff of bilingual English- and Spanish-speaking interviewers who, when contacting a household, were able to offer respondents the option of completing the survey in Spanish or English. A total of 626 respondents (41.7%) were surveyed in Spanish, and 875 respondents (58.3%) were interviewed in English. Any person age 18 or older who said they were of Hispanic/Latino origin or descent was eligible to complete the survey.

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For the landline sampling frame, the sample was compared with InfoUSA and Experian landline household databases, and phone numbers associated with households that included persons with known Latino surnames were subdivided into a surname stratum. The remaining, unmatched and unlisted landline sample was used to generate a stratum with a high incidence of Latinos, based on the share of Latinos in the sample telephone exchange.

It is important to note that the existence of a surname stratum does not mean the survey was exclusively a surname sample design. The sample is RDD (random-digit dial), with the randomly selected telephone numbers divided by whether or not they were found to be associated with a Spanish surname. This was done to ease administration by allowing for more effective assignment of interviewers and labor hours, as well as increase the efficiency of the sample.

MSG’s GENESYS sample generation system was used to generate cellphone sample, which was divided into high and medium strata, based on the share of Latinos in the sample telephone area code.

Samples for the low-incidence landline and low-incidence cell strata were drawn from previously interviewed respondents in SSRS’s weekly dual-frame omnibus survey. Respondents who indicated they were Latino on the omnibus survey were eligible to be recontacted for the present survey. Altogether, a total of 359 previously interviewed respondents were included in this sample.

A multistage weighting procedure was used to ensure an accurate representation of the national Hispanic population.

• An adjustment was made for all persons found to possess both a landline and a cellphone, as they were more likely to be sampled than were respondents who possessed only one phone type. This adjustment also took into account the different sampling rate in the landline and cellphone samples.
• The sample was corrected for a potential bias associated with recontacting previously interviewed respondents in low-incidence strata.
• The sample was corrected for within-household selection in landline interviews, which depended upon the number of Latino adults living in the household.
• The sample was corrected for the oversampling of telephone number exchanges known to have higher densities of Latinos and the corresponding undersampling of exchanges known to have lower densities of Latinos.
• The listed cellphone sample was balanced back to the true distribution of listed cellphone sample in the cellphone RDD frame.
• Finally, the data were put through a post-stratification sample-balancing routine. The post-stratification weighting used estimates of the U.S. adult Hispanic population based on the 2016 U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, on gender, age, education, Census Bureau region, heritage and years in the U.S. Phone status of the U.S. adult Hispanic population (i.e., cellphone only, dual, landline only) is based on estimates from the July-December 2017 National Center for Health Statistics’ National Health Interview Survey and density of the Latino population is from the 2010 Census.
• Weights are then trimmed to avoid any particular case having too much influence on the overall estimates.

Pew Research Center undertakes all polling activity, including calls to mobile telephone numbers, in compliance with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and other applicable laws.

Pew Research Center is a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization and a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts, its primary funder.

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