CNN data analyst sees 'tremendous' 40-point shift among immigrants to GOP on issue of border security, ICE enforcement

CNN data analyst Harry Enten revealed on Tuesday that immigrants in the US have shifted "tremendously" to the right on the issue of immigration. This comes as the city of Los Angeles has made headlines in recent days over violent anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) riots and the subsequent crackdown on these riots.

"Immigrant citizens, immigrant voters, foreign-born voters have gone tremendously to the right on this issue in 2024 and 2025 versus where they were in 2020," Enten said. 

When asked who they trusted more on the issue of immigration, Democrats had a 32-point lead in 2020. "Immigrant voters were in the Democratic camp," Enten said.

"Jump forward to 2024, 2025, look at that shift. A 40-point shift to the right among immigrant voters," Enten said. "Republicans now lead on this issue by eight points over Democrats, more so than any other group that I could find. The group of voters who became more hawkish on immigration were in fact immigrants themselves, immigrants who are registered to vote in this country." 

Anchor Kate Bolduan asked how this voting bloc felt about President Donald Trump, to which Enten replied, "Yeah, so, you know, you see this shift and you go, what is going on underneath the hood?"

"You remember when he first ran back in 2016, immigrant voters were one of his weakest spots," Enten said, noting that in 2016, 36 percent on immigrant voters cast their ballots for Trump. In 2020, this rose slightly to 39 percent. 

"Look at this — in 2024, all the way up to 47 percent of the vote." Enten said that some polls had Trump losing that voting bloc by a slight margin, while others had him winning by a slight margin. 

"Again, there is no bloc of voters that shifted more to the right from 2020 to 2024 than immigrant voters, and Donald Trump, at least in some surveys, actually won that vote. On average, its about equal."  

Bolduan asked about how this voting bloc felt about illegal immigrants, to which Enten replied, "this is where it all kinda comes together."

In 2020, the net favorability of illegal immigrants was plus 23 points among immigrant voters. In 2024, however, that shifted to a minus six points. "Underwater," said Enten. "So immigrant citizens have become increasingly unfavorable in their views of those immigrants who are here illegally."

He later added, "And so, again, when we’re talking about this, at least from a political angle, this is why Donald Trump feels so comfortable, because, in fact, amongst the group that you would think that would be most opposed to this, in fact, they become increasingly favorable, not just towards Donald Trump, but towards the Republican point of view on immigration and becoming distant from those immigrants who are here illegally.”