Donald Trump has made immigration a focus of his presidency, and many Americans expect his tenure to have an impact on who is entering and exiting the country.
In a recent poll, we asked Americans how various forms of international relations, including immigration and tourism, will change during Trump's second term. For most of the indicators we chose, Americans are more likely to expect decreases than increases.
Majorities believe there will be a decline in illegal (69%) and legal (55%) immigration to the U.S. Many Americans anticipate there will be a decrease in international student enrollment during Trump's second term (60%). Some also expect foreign business to be affected: 43% say there will be a decline in investments from foreign companies and 41% think fewer people will visit the U.S. for business.
Half (50%) of Americans think that international tourism overall will decrease during Trump's second term. Smaller shares expect that there will be declines in several specific types of events hosted in the U.S., including tours from international artists and performers (40%), academic conferences (38%), and sporting events (34%).
There is division among Americans on how tourism from the U.S. to other countries will change: 23% of Americans think fewer Americans will travel abroad and 19% think more will. Far more Americans anticipate that during Trump's presidency, the share of U.S. citizens moving abroad will increase than decrease (42% vs. 11%).
Democrats are more likely than Republicans to expect changes in immigration and related areas during Trump's second term. Democrats are at least 50 percentage points more likely than Republicans to say there will be decreases in:
- International tourists visiting the U.S. (76% of Democrats vs. 25% of Republicans)
- Foreign companies investing in the U.S. (71% vs. 13%)
- International artists and performers touring in the U.S. (69% vs. 13%)
- Academic conferences hosted in the U.S. (68% vs. 10%)
- People from other countries visiting the U.S. for business (66% vs. 15%)
- International sporting events hosted in the U.S. (62% vs. 10%)
Though majorities in both parties expect a decline in illegal immigration during Trump's second term, Republicans are more likely than Democrats to expect a decrease (90% vs. 54%).
A large share of Democrats — but only a small share of Republicans — think that an increasing number of U.S. citizens will move abroad (73% vs. 14%).
Related:
- Majorities of Americans disapprove of ICE and say the agency mistreats citizens and immigrants
- What do Americans think about immigrants? It depends on how you ask
- Americans are far more likely to say immigration detention centers should provide clean drinking water than to say they do
— Carl Bialik contributed to this article
See the results for this YouGov poll
Methodology: This YouGov poll was conducted online on November 11 - 13, 2025 among 1,131 U.S. adult citizens. A random sample (stratified by gender, age, race, education, geographic region, and voter registration) was selected from the 2019 American Community Survey. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2024 presidential vote, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. 2024 presidential vote, at time of weighting, was estimated to be 48% Harris and 50% Trump. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given around November 8, 2024, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (31% Democratic, 32% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 4 percentage points.
Image: Getty
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