Latinos feel historic levels of pessimism about their place in the U.S., their economic stability and the impact of President Trump's second-term policies, a new Pew Research Center survey found.
Why it matters: The findings mark some of the bleakest assessments by Latinos in nearly two decades of Pew surveys and confirm similar findings in an Axios-Ipsos poll released this month.
The big picture: The deepening pessimism and heightened fears in this latest survey suggest Trump's second-term policies — especially on immigration and the economy — are reshaping Latinos' sense of belonging.
- The report offers yet another snapshot of how Trump's second-term policies are reshaping Latino attitudes heading into the midterms.
Nearly two in three Latinos say it's a bad time to be Latino or Hispanic in the U.S., the recent Axios-Ipsos Latino Poll in partnership with Noticias Telemundo found.
- Latinos are the nation's second-largest ethnic group and a growing share of the electorate.
By the numbers: Around 68% of Latinos surveyed say the situation for Hispanics in the U.S. has worsened in the past year — the largest share Pew has ever recorded, the Pew Research Center's National Survey of Latinos found.
- About four in five Latinos say Trump's policies harm Hispanics, a higher share than during his first term.
- About half of Latinos say they've struggled to afford food, housing or medical care in the past year.
- In the last six months, 59% of Latino adults report seeing or hearing immigration raids in their community, and 32% have thought about leaving the U.S., with most citing the political situation.
Zoom in: Pew finds most Latinos still feel financially insecure, and many are cutting back, borrowing more or struggling with essentials, despite federal data showing rising Latino household income and falling poverty
- Roughly a third of Latinos (36%) say they've borrowed money from family or friends in the past year.
- At least one in four also say they've struggled to afford daily necessities like electricity and transportation.
Zoom out: The political divide is just as striking, the Pew survey found.
- Latino Republicans have grown more positive about the economy but more critical of Trump's deportation push.
- Latino Democrats are overwhelmingly negative across all measures.
- Two-thirds of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents (67%) approve of the way Trump is handling his job. In contrast, 92% of Democrats and Democratic leaners disapprove.
Between the lines: The recent polls suggest Trump has, within a year, all but wiped out the historic gains Republicans made with Latino voters in 2024.
- Trump won a higher percentage of the Latino vote in 2024 than previously believed and came within striking distance of capturing a historic majority of those voters, another Pew study found.
The bottom line: Republicans are heading into the 2026 midterms severely behind with Latino voters who could swing the balance of power in Texas, Arizona and California.
Methodology: Pew's report is based on responses from 4,923 Latinos ages 18 and older, including 1,125 respondents who are members of the Center's American Trends Panel (ATP) and 3,798 respondents who are members of SSRS's Opinion Panel. The survey also included 3,114 non-Hispanic ATP members.
- The primary survey is Pew's National Survey of Latinos, conducted Oct. 6 to 16, 2025.
- The margin of sampling error is ±2.6 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.
