Six Months Into His Presidency, Trump's Popularity On Immigration is On a Steady Decline, Polls Show

Six months into the Trump administration, what was once considered one of the president's most popular issues across the country, immigration, has plummeted in popularity, according to new polls.

A handful of surveys show that immigration, more specifically the president's mass deportation agenda, remains one of his best-performing issues, but it's no longer as popular. That trend mirrors the decline in his overall approval ratings as the administration has pursued an aggressive set of policies, according to a new NBC News analysis.

To put it into perspective, back in January, when President Trump took office, polls showed enthusiasm from voters at his immigration agenda. In a late January survey as part of Morning Consult's "Trump Tracker" series, which includes his approval rating on a slew of issues, 56% of registered voters approved of his handling of immigration.

Other polls found similar results: 51% of U.S. citizens approved in a mid-February Economist/YouGov poll, 54% of adults approved in a late February CBS/YouGov poll, and 51% approved in an early March CNN poll.

Months later, a CNN mid-July poll showed that just 42% of adults approved of Trump's handling of immigration, while 45% of adults said the same in an early July Economist/YouGov poll, as did 41% in a late June Quinnipiac University poll.

While narrowly or more still approved of Trump's handling on the issue in the most recent Morning Consult (51%) and CBS/YouGov (50%) polls from mid-July and late June, respectively, months of survey by both found the same trend of slightly decreased ratings on immigration.

NBC News attributes a possible reason for the decline in approval to the policies implemented by the administration throughout these first six months. That is because even when Trump's numbers on the issue were higher, the harder-edged parts of his immigration policy, such as mass incarceration and separation of families, have always polled worse than his overall numbers on the issue.

Other polls have shown warning signs to the administration to stay away from the more extreme issues related to immigration.

For instance, a Wall Street Journal poll conducted in mid-January, showed that almost three-quarters of registered voters (74%) said they supported detaining and deporting only undocumented immigrants who had been convicted of crimes. It was the second-most popular immigration proposal tested, behind creating a pathway to citizenship for "undocumented immigrants who have been in the U.S. for many years and passed a background check," which 79% supported.

The recent analysis in the president's performance on immigration comes as his overall approval rating reaches a new low point during his second term, an Economist/YouGov poll showed.

Trump's net approval rating is 15 points underwater— with 55% of surveyed Americans disapproving of the president's performance in office and 40% approving. By comparison, Trump started his second term with 49% approval and 43% disapproval.