{"id":201679,"date":"2025-03-03T13:08:01","date_gmt":"2025-03-03T18:08:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?post_type=short-read&p=201679"},"modified":"2025-03-03T13:08:03","modified_gmt":"2025-03-03T18:08:03","slug":"where-americans-stand-on-the-economy-immigration-and-other-issues-as-trump-addresses-congress","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2025\/03\/03\/where-americans-stand-on-the-economy-immigration-and-other-issues-as-trump-addresses-congress\/","title":{"rendered":"Where Americans stand on the economy, immigration and other issues as Trump addresses Congress"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"President
President Trump in the White House Oval Office on Feb. 24, 2025. (Ludovic Marin\/Pool\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After a whirlwind start to his second term \u2013 marked by a flurry of executive orders and cuts to the federal workforce \u2013 President Donald Trump will address a joint session of Congress<\/a> on March 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahead of the speech, here\u2019s a look at U.S. public opinion on key policy issues, drawn from recent Pew Research Center surveys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How we did this<\/summary>\n

This analysis looks at Americans\u2019 views on key national issues ahead of President Donald Trump\u2019s address to a joint session of Congress<\/a> on March 4. (Traditionally, the first such address given during a president\u2019s term is not called a \u201cState of the Union\u201d address<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The findings in this analysis primarily come from a survey of 5,086 U.S. adults conducted Jan. 27-Feb. 2, 2025. Everyone who took part in this survey is a member of the Center\u2019s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the ATP\u2019s methodology.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Links to additional ATP surveys used for this analysis, including information about their methodologies, are available in the text.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

Economic issues are among the biggest perceived problems facing the country<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The public\u2019s assessments of the economy remain largely negative<\/a>, according to a survey conducted Jan. 27-Feb. 2. Around a quarter of U.S. adults (24%) say the economy is in excellent or good shape, while far more say it\u2019s doing only fair (45%) or poor (31%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These overall evaluations are essentially unchanged over the past year. But Republicans\u2019 views of the economy have improved since the fall, while the opposite is true for Democrats. (Throughout this analysis, references to Republicans and Democrats include independents who lean toward each party.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Majorities of Americans see several economic issues as very big problems<\/a> in the country today. Two-thirds of adults say the affordability of health care is a very big problem \u2013 a share that\u2019s risen 10 percentage points since last spring. Majorities also see inflation (63%) and the federal budget deficit (57%) as major problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking ahead, Republicans and Democrats have very different predictions about the future of the economy: 73% of Republicans say economic conditions will be better a year from now, while 64% of Democrats say conditions will be worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Affordability of groceries and other needs<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to the future prices of food and other goods, the public as a whole is more pessimistic than optimistic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

More Americans say the affordability of food and consumer goods will get worse rather than better over the course of the next year (43% vs. 37%). Another 19% say prices will stay about the same. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expectations are also more negative than positive when it comes to the affordability of housing (42% vs. 29%) and health care (45% vs. 20%) in the coming year. There is again a partisan divide in these assessments, with Democrats much more likely than Republicans<\/a> to say affordability will get worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stark partisan divides on immigration policy<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Republicans and Democrats are deeply divided on several of the 24 national problems asked about in our recent survey<\/a>, but illegal immigration stands out: 73% of Republicans see it as a very big problem in the country today, while 23% of Democrats say the same. The partisan gap on this question has ranged between 40 and 50 points for most of the last decade<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Broad GOP support for Trump\u2019s immigration agend<\/em>a<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Immediately after returning to office in January, Trump signed executive orders declaring a national emergency<\/a> at the U.S.-Mexico border and ramping up efforts to restrict immigration<\/a> and deport people living in the country illegally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, more than half of U.S. adults support increasing deportations<\/a> (59%) and growing the military\u2019s presence at the southern border (58%). Fewer than half support cutting federal funds for cities and states that don\u2019t help federal deportation efforts (47%) and suspending asylum applications from people seeking to live in the U.S. (44%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Republicans are far more likely than Democrats to approve of several of the administration\u2019s immigration policy actions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n