A recent 2025 Gallup poll indicates that nearly 75 million potential immigrants have lost faith in the possibility of moving to the United States, largely due to President Donald Trump’s firm stance on border security.
Gallup notes, “In 2025, 15% of adults worldwide expressing interest in permanently relocating will choose the United States as their top destination, marking the lowest figure in almost two decades of polling.”
Despite this, about 15% of the 134 million people who still want to move to the U.S. are backed by pro-immigration Democrats, business entities, and certain Republicans, like Rep. Maria Salazar (R-Fla.) and retiring Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.).
There’s concern that a significant increase in immigrants could lead to falling wages and rising housing costs for everyday Americans. This scenario could also hinder the kind of high-tech economy President Trump aims to create, contrasting with what he sees as President Biden’s low-wage strategy.
The survey gathered opinions from 144,000 adults across 140 nations.
Interestingly, Gallup’s report didn’t highlight immigration in its title, instead framing it as “A desire to permanently reside in the U.S. at a new low.” This seems to play down Trump’s accomplishments.
The most significant drops in interest for U.S. immigration were noted in regions affected by Trump’s border policies, particularly Central and South America. According to Gallup:
Seven out of the sixteen countries showing decreased interest are in Latin America, with those preferring the U.S. dropping by at least 10 points. This area saw the preference decline from 33% in 2024 to 28% in 2025.
Mexico, a neighboring country, registered a decrease too, with 21% now desiring to immigrate, hitting previous lows from 2017 and 2018. In Honduras, interest fell sharply by 35 percentage points, from 71% to 36%, marking the steepest decline in 2025.
There’s also a cycle where immigration exacerbates issues in both home and destination countries by weakening their economies.
Interestingly, a growing proportion of young individuals in developed nations express interest in leaving countries that welcome large numbers of immigrants. Gallup findings indicate that the desire to migrate in the U.S. and Canada (20%) and the European Union (21%) remains near all-time highs.
Effective governmental policies could curb immigration by bolstering the economy. In El Salvador, for instance, the percentage of adults wishing to leave has notably decreased from over 50% in prior years to 25% in 2025, according to Gallup.
The United Nations has highlighted that Trump’s immigration reforms are projected to lower migrant fatalities in the Americas by 2025.
Yet, immigration challenges and high mortality rates persist in sub-Saharan regions of Europe, where left-leaning governments are reportedly using immigration as a strategy to weaken the political weight of both established states and their younger demographics.
