A new survey showed that President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration is sending a message.
A survey from Gallup indicated that as Trump pushes to deport illegal immigrants and ban potential terrorists, the number of people who want to come here has declined.
Gallup’s 2025 migration survey shows that 15 percent of respondents around the world who want to leave their country picked the U.S. as their destination of choice, which put the U.S. first among potential destinations.
For context, the figure was at 24 percent in 2009 during the Obama administration, and dipped to around 18 percent during Trump’s first term.
The 2025 results are from 144,000 people in 140 countries and include 2023 results from China, the last year the question was asked there.
Gallup asked respondents, “Ideally, if you had the opportunity, would you like to move permanently to another country, or would you prefer to continue living in this country?” Anyone who wanted to leave was then asked where they would ideally live.
The survey found that as Trump has slammed the door on illegal immigrants from Mexico and Central America, migrating to America has lost some of its luster in those regions.
In 2024, 33 percent of those surveyed from Latin America said they wanted to come to America. That fell to 28 percent in 2025.
In Mexico, 21 percent of those surveyed said they wanted to move to the U.S., dropping from Biden-era highs back to the level of the first Trump administration.
In Honduras, the will to migrate to the U.S. fell from 71 percent to 36 percent.
Trump is doing what Americans want and it should alway be American First. Not illegal immigrants. pic.twitter.com/P921q95CDF
— greenie71 (@greenie71) April 23, 2026
Trump has made no apologies for his stance.
“It is the policy of the United States to protect its citizens from foreign nationals who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security and public safety, incite hate crimes, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes,” he wrote in a December proclamation to limit the entry of potential terrorists to the U.S.
“The United States must exercise extreme vigilance during the visa-issuance and immigration processes to identify, prior to their admission or entry into the United States, foreign nationals who intend to harm Americans or our national interests. The United States Government must ensure that admitted aliens do not intend to threaten its citizens; undermine or destabilize its culture, government, institutions, or founding principles; or advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists or other threats to our national security,” he wrote.
The State Department also warned potential illegal immigrants not to make the journey into the country.
“Those who try to abuse the visa system to reach the United States illegally will face consequences. Individuals who are found to have intentionally provided inaccurate information on visa applications or during interviews will jeopardize their ability to travel to the United States and may be permanently ineligible to enter the United States,” it warned.
“They may also face criminal prosecution under local and federal U.S. law. Those who commit fraud and abuse our visa process will be caught. Those who are issued a visa and use it improperly, including by overstaying or otherwise breaking U.S. laws, risk consequences ranging from deportation to a lifetime ban on entry,” it added.
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