GOP senators warn Trump has fumbled immigration issue as deportation policy draws criticism

Republican senators are warning that President Donald Trump's aggressive mass-deportation policies have fumbled a key GOP political advantage, turning immigration into an electoral liability. Senators John Cornyn, Thom Tillis, and Mike Rounds argue that overreach is alienating suburban and Hispanic voters, overshadowing a 90% drop in illegal border crossings. Meanwhile, a federal judge blocked the administration's policy of fining migrants up to $1.8 million, even as the Justice Department moves to strip citizenship from 40 naturalized citizens.

Republican senators criticize mass-deportation policies

• ▪Senator John Cornyn stated that deporting immigrants who have lived in the United States without incident for 15 to 20 years creates a divisive "gray zone."
• ▪Senator Thom Tillis characterized the aggressive mass-deportation overreach as "politically dumb" and "immoral," noting that immigration sweeps have mistakenly caught up U.S. citizens and green-card holders.
• ▪Senator Mike Rounds advised the Trump administration to focus Immigration and Customs Enforcement efforts on migrants who have committed non-immigration crimes rather than those with court determinations allowing them to stay.
• ▪Republican senators warned that President Donald Trump's aggressive mass-deportation policies have become a growing political liability for the Republican party.

Impact on Hispanic voters

• ▪Senator John Cornyn stated that the Hispanic vote could decide the Texas Senate race between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico.
• ▪Republican senators expressed alarm that President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement is shifting Hispanic voters toward Democrats in key electoral races.

Decline in border crossings

• ▪Senator Thom Tillis and other Republican critics argued that President Donald Trump's aggressive mass-deportation policies have masked his administration's success in reducing illegal border crossings by more than 90 percent since former President Biden left office.
• ▪Migrant shelters along Mexico's northern border are emptying amid a decline in migrant arrivals.

Fatal shootings of Minneapolis protesters

• ▪Public opinion on Trump's immigration policies shifted after federal officers fatally shot American citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis during demonstrations protesting aggressive immigration enforcement tactics.
• ▪The fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti triggered a 76-day shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security before funding was approved solely on Republican Senate votes through a budget reconciliation process.

Polls show disapproval of immigration policies

• ▪An NBC News/Telemundo poll of Hispanic voters conducted September 21-28, 2026, revealed that 7 in 10 disapproved of Trump's handling of immigration, while only 27 percent approved of Trump overall.
• ▪An NPR/PBS News/Marist poll conducted September 14-15, 2026, found that 41 percent of registered voters trusted Democrats to do a better job on immigration, compared to 38 percent for Republicans.
• ▪A nationwide Fox News poll conducted September 11-14, 2026, found that 53 percent of registered voters believed the Trump administration's enforcement of immigration laws had gone too far.

Court blocks civil fines on migrants

• ▪Judge George O'Toole ruled the fines unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act, finding the government used boilerplate forms without specific allegations and failed to comply with public notice-and-comment rulemaking processes.
• ▪U.S. District Judge George O'Toole blocked the Trump administration's policy of imposing civil fines of up to $1.8 million on migrants who fail to leave the country after receiving final deportation orders.
• ▪The Department of Homeland Security reported in July 2026 that it had issued more than 103,000 fines to migrants totaling approximately $84 billion since Donald Trump returned to office.

Denaturalization actions against naturalized citizens

• ▪The 40 individuals facing denaturalization proceedings include Jinchao Wei, a Chinese-born former U.S. Navy sailor convicted in August 2025 of espionage for plotting to sell military secrets to China.
• ▪The U.S. Justice Department announced denaturalization actions to strip the citizenship of 40 naturalized citizens accused of serious crimes, marking the largest such single-period initiative during the Trump administration.
• ▪U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche stated that the 40 individuals targeted for denaturalization concealed critical facts from the government and represent serious criminal offenders.

Debatable claims

• ▪The Trump administration should exempt long-term, law-abiding undocumented immigrants from deportation
• ▪Trump's aggressive immigration enforcement is a political liability for the Republican Party
• ▪Imposing million-dollar civil fines on migrants who fail to deport is an excessive punishment