How Christian Nationalism Affects Views on Immigration

March 30, 2026

According to PRRI’s 2025 American Values Atlas, one-third of Americans qualify as Christian nationalism Adherents (12%) or Sympathizers (21%), compared with two-thirds who qualify as Skeptics (36%) or Rejecters (27%).^[1] Previous PRRI research on Christian nationalism also finds that support for Christian nationalist ideology correlates with holding more extreme views about immigrants and immigration policy. However, among those who qualify as Christian nationalists, these views differ drastically by race.

This Spotlight explores the differences between white, Black, and Hispanic Christian nationalists’ views of the second Trump administration’s handling of immigration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and their actions, immigration policies, and perceptions of immigrants.

Trump’s Handling of Immigration

Over one-third of Americans (35%) hold favorable views of the way President Trump is handling immigration; around six in ten (61%) hold unfavorable views.
Strong majorities of Christian nationalism Adherents (70%) and Sympathizers (60%) view Trump’s handling of immigration favorably, compared with one-third of Skeptics (32%), and just 8% of Rejecters.
White Christian nationalism Adherents and Sympathizers (79%) are around twice as likely as their Hispanic (34%) and Black counterparts (27%) and more likely than all Christian nationalists (64%) to hold favorable views of how Trump is handling immigration.

Support for ICE Officers and Their Conduct

Favorable Views of ICE Officers

One-third of Americans (33%) hold somewhat or very favorable views of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, while more than six in ten (62%) hold unfavorable views.
Nearly seven in ten Christian nationalism Adherents view ICE officers favorably (69%), compared with 55% of Sympathizers, 30% of Skeptics, and only 7% of Rejecters.
While 60% of all Christian nationalists (Adherents and Sympathizers) hold favorable views of ICE officers, white Christian nationalists (74%) are more than twice as likely as Hispanic (36%) and Black Christian nationalists (22%) to hold favorable views of ICE officers.

Support for Increased ICE Funding

More than one-third of Americans (36%) favor the increase in funding for ICE to arrest, detain, and deport undocumented immigrants; six in ten Americans (60%) oppose the ICE funding increase.
Among Christian nationalism Adherents, seven in ten (70%) support the increase in funding for ICE, followed by 61% of Sympathizers, 33% of Skeptics, and only 8% of Rejecters.
Support for increased ICE funding is significantly higher among white Christian nationalists (77%) than all Christian nationalists (64%) and especially higher than Hispanic and Black Christian nationalists (both 32%).

Allowing ICE to Detain and Relocate Undocumented Immigrants Without Due Process

Around three in ten Americans (28%) favor allowing ICE officers to arrest and relocate undocumented immigrants to detention centers in states far from their home without allowing them to challenge their detainment in court; around two-thirds of Americans (68%) oppose.
The majority of Christian nationalism Adherents (57%) favor ICE relocating undocumented immigrants far from their home without allowing them to challenge their detainment, followed by 49% of Sympathizers, 26% of Skeptics, and 7% of Rejecters.
Support is significantly higher among white Christian nationalists (63%) than all Christian nationalists (52%) and their Black (27%) and Hispanic counterparts (25%).

ICE Operating in Sensitive Locations

Less than one-quarter of Americans (24%) favor allowing ICE officers to conduct surveillance and arrests at sensitive locations like schools, hospitals, places of worship, and social service locations, while more than seven in ten (72%) oppose.
More than half of Christian nationalism Adherents (53%) support ICE officers operating at sensitive locations, compared with 41% of Sympathizers, 22% of Skeptics, and only 6% of Rejecters.
White Christian nationalists (55%) are twice as likely as Hispanic (24%) and Black Christian nationalists (21%) to favor ICE conducting surveillance and arrests at sensitive locations, compared with 46% of all Christian nationalists.

ICE Officers Should Not Be Allowed to Conceal Their Identities

The majority of Americans (61%) agree that ICE officers should not be allowed to conceal their identity with masks or unmarked vehicles when arresting people, while around one-third (35%) disagree.
Most Christian nationalism Rejecters (89%) and Skeptics (64%) agree that ICE officers should not be allowed to conceal their identities, compared with 45% of Sympathizers and 34% of Adherents.
Most Black (70%) and Hispanic Christian nationalists (67%) agree that ICE officers should not be allowed to conceal their identities, compared with 29% of white Christian nationalists and 42% of all Christian nationalists

The Surge of ICE Officers in American Communities Is Making Them Less Safe

More than half of Americans (57%) agree that the surge of ICE officers in places like Minnesota is making communities less safe, compared with less than four in ten (38%) who disagree.
Nearly nine in ten Christian nationalism Rejecters (87%) agree that surges of ICE officers are making communities less safe, while less than six in ten Skeptics (59%), four in ten Sympathizers (39%), and three in ten Adherents (31%) also agree.
Black (67%) and Hispanic (59%) Americans who qualify as Christian nationalists are more likely to agree that the surge of ICE in communities is making them less safe than white Christian nationalists (24%).

ICE Officers Should Be Held Accountable for Violent Actions

The vast majority of Americans (84%) say ICE officers should be held accountable for actions that are unnecessarily violent or violate people’s civil rights; only around one in ten Americans (13%) disagree.
Although a majority of Americans in all Christian nationalism groups agree that ICE officers should be held accountable for violent actions, Adherents (70%) and Sympathizers (79%) are less likely than Skeptics (87%) and Rejecters (95%) to agree.
More than eight in ten Hispanic (86%) and Black (81%) Christian nationalists agree, compared with around seven in ten white Christian nationalists (72%).

Christian Nationalists’ Views Toward Extreme Immigration Policies

Internment Camps for Undocumented Immigrants

Around four in ten Americans (41%) agree that the federal government should detain immigrants who are in the country illegally in internment camps until they can be deported, while the majority (55%) disagree.
Three-fourths of Christian nationalism Adherents (75%) agree with detaining undocumented immigrants in internment camps, followed by six in ten Sympathizers (62%), four in ten Skeptics (40%), and only 15% of Rejecters.
White Christian nationalists (77%) are more likely than all Christian nationalists (67%) and their Black (51%) and Hispanic Christian counterparts (39%) to agree with detaining undocumented immigrants in internment camps.

Self-Deportation

Two in ten Americans (21%) agree the best way to fix illegal immigration is to make life so hard for illegal immigrants that they decide to go back to their home country by themselves; three-fourths of Americans (74%) disagree.
A slim majority of Christian nationalism Adherents (51%) agree with self-deportation as a solution for illegal immigration, compared with 34% of Sympathizers, 18% of Skeptics, and only 7% of Rejecters.
Roughly four in ten white Christian nationalists (43%) and all Christian nationalists (40%) agree with making life so hard for illegal immigrants that they decide to go back to their home country by themselves, compared with 30% of Hispanic and 28% of Black Christian nationalists.

Providing Refuge for People Facing Serious Danger

More than seven in ten Americans (72%) believe that we should provide refuge for people who come to the U.S. if they are in serious danger in their home country, while around one-quarter (24%) disagree with the notion.
Around nine in ten of Christian nationalism Rejecters (89%) agree with providing refuge for people in danger in their home countries, compared with 74% of Skeptics, 60% Sympathizers, and 59% of Adherents.
Around three-quarters of Black (76%) and Hispanic (72%) Christian nationalists agree with providing refuge to people facing serious danger, followed by 60% of all Christian nationalists and 55% of white Christian nationalists.

Perceptions of Immigrants and Immigrants’ Rights

Immigrants Strengthen American Society

A slim majority of Americans (54%) agree that the growing number of newcomers from other countries strengthens American society, compared with around four in ten (42%) who disagree.
Christian nationalism Adherents (69%) and Sympathizers (62%) are more likely than Skeptics (42%) and Rejecters (16%) to disagree that immigrants strengthen American society.
White Christian nationalists (74%) are notably more likely than all Christian nationalists (65%), Hispanic Christian nationalists (50%), and Black Christian nationalists (41%) to disagree with the idea that immigrants strengthen society.

Immigrants Should Have Due Process Regardless of Legal Status

Around one-third of Americans (36%) disagree with the idea that immigrants, regardless of legal status, should have the right to challenge their deportation in court; about six in ten Americans agree (61%).
Among Christian nationalism Adherents, nearly two-thirds (64%) disagree that immigrants should have due process, compared with 53% of Sympathizers, 36% of Skeptics, and 14% of Adherents.
White Christian nationalists (69%) are twice as likely as Black (33%) and Hispanic (30%) Christian nationalists and 12 percentage points more likely than all Christian nationalists (57%) to disagree with respecting due process for immigrants.

The “Great Replacement Theory”

One-third of Americans (33%) agree with the “great replacement theory” — the idea that “Immigrants are invading our country and replacing our cultural and ethnic background” — while a majority of Americans (62%) disagree with this statement.
Seven in ten Christian nationalism Adherents (70%) agree with the “great replacement theory,” followed by less than six in ten Sympathizers (58%), three in ten Skeptics (29%), and only one in ten Rejecters (8%).
White Christian nationalists (74%) are significantly more likely than all Christian nationalists (52%) and Hispanic (37%) or Black (35%) Christian nationalists to agree with the “great replacement theory.”

[1] Based on respondents’ answers to (1) The U.S. government should declare America a Christian nation, (2) U.S. laws should be based on Christian values, (3) If the U.S. moves away from our Christian foundations, we will not have a country anymore, (4) Being Christian is an important part of being truly American, and (5) God has called Christians to exercise dominion over all areas of American society, each respondent receives a composite score on the Christian nationalism scale (with a range of 0 to 1) and is then assigned to one of the four groups. For more information about how measures are constructed, please see our previous reports: “A Christian Nation? Understanding the Threat of Christian Nationalism to American Democracy and Culture,” “Support for Christian Nationalism in All 50 States: Findings from PRRI’s 2023 American Values Atlas,” and “Christian Nationalism Across All 50 States: Insights from PRRI’s 2024 American Values Atlas.”