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Demography & Population Studies

Younger, Latino, and Moderate Republicans in California Diverge from Party Line on Immigration Enforcement

The analysis examines partisan responses across ten immigration-related questions. The poll results show that Democratic opposition to current immigration enforcement never falls below 88 percent and reaches up to 95 percent on some items, while Republican responses reveal significant fractures in support for some enforcement measures.

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Contact: lppipress@luskin.ucla.edu 

UCLA LPPI Brief Finds Younger, Latino, and Moderate Republicans in California Diverge from Party Line on Immigration Enforcement

LOS ANGELES (November 17, 2025) — A new brief published by the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute finds that while California Democrats remain nearly unified in opposition to recent immigration enforcement strategies, Republicans in the state are more divided. The study, based on data from the August 2025 UC Berkeley IGS Poll (N = 4,950), conducted by the Institute of Governmental Studies, finds that younger voters, Latino Republicans, and politically moderate Republicans—especially women—are most likely to diverge from Trump-aligned immigration positions.

The analysis, authored by G. Cristina Mora, Daisy Reyes, and Nicholas Vargas, examines partisan responses across ten immigration-related questions. The poll results show that Democratic opposition to current immigration enforcement never falls below 88 percent and reaches up to 95 percent on some items, while Republican responses reveal significant fractures in support for some enforcement measures.

“The poll data shows that California Republicans are not a monolith on immigration,” said Mora, Chancellor’s Professor of Sociology at UC Berkeley. “Substantial shares support measures that constrain or soften enforcement—particularly when those measures are linked to fairness, due process, or limits on government reach.”

Among CA Republicans, 45% say ICE agents should be required to show identification, 40% support due process for all immigrants, and roughly a third oppose expanding enforcement into schools and hospitals, deporting long-term residents, or ending birthright citizenship. These responses, the authors note, indicate that support for enforcement weakens when policies touch on constitutional principles or intrude into family and community spaces.

The authors identify three groups with the highest divergence from the party line:

  • Younger CA Republicans (ages 18–29), on average, diverge from the party line on about four out of ten enforcement issues—nearly twice as many as older Republicans. They are significantly more likely to support due process protections for immigrants, oppose expanding enforcement into schools and hospitals, and question whether ICE focuses only on serious criminals.
  • Moderate CA Republicans, especially women, are the most likely to express concern about fairness and proportionality in enforcement practices. Compared to conservative or strongly conservative Republicans, they are far more likely to say ICE raids can be excessive, to oppose extending enforcement into family spaces like schools or hospitals, and to believe immigration policy should be guided by constitutional principles and accountability.
  • Latino CA Republicans show the highest overall divergence from the party’s dominant immigration stance. They are more likely than White or Asian Republicans to oppose deporting long-time residents, to support due process for all immigrants, and to believe that ICE sometimes unfairly targets Latinos. 

“These findings suggest that some Republican attitudes on immigration are movable,” said Reyes, an associate professor of sociology at UC Merced. “When enforcement practices are seen as inconsistent with constitutional norms, voters—especially younger and moderate Republicans—tend to respond with skepticism rather than partisan reflex.”

The brief also finds that region and education have almost no influence on how California Republicans depart from the party line, underscoring that the differences are driven more by values than by geography or class.

“Republicans express the most reluctance when enforcement implicates fundamental principles like due process and birthright citizenship,” said Vargas, an associate professor of Chicanx/Latinx Studies at the UC Berkeley Department of Ethnic Studies and faculty co-director of the Latino Social Science Pipeline Initiative. “This pattern points to underlying concerns about proportionality, fairness, and the limits of government power.”

Read the brief here.

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About UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute:

The UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute is a non-partisan research institute that seeks to inform, engage, and empower Latinos through innovative research and policy analysis. LPPI aims to promote equitable and inclusive policies that address the needs of the Latino community and advance social justice. latino.ucla.edu.