Republicans had a difficult midterm election on Tuesday, with Democrats winning a string of races across the country. But people close to the White House say one issue still worked in the GOP’s favor: immigration.
A source close to the White House told Breitbart News that immigration, long described as President Donald Trump’s signature issue, helped turn out Republican voters even as the party suffered broader losses. The source credited the administration’s immigration team, including Stephen Miller and Tom Homan, with what they called the most secure border in American history, adding that more than 3 million people who entered the country illegally have left the U.S. under the current administration.
The source also pointed to CNN exit polling showing immigration remains the top issue for Republican voters and ranks among the top concerns for Americans overall.
Government data cited in the report shows the country’s foreign-born population fell by 2.9 million between January 2025 and July 2026. That marks a sharp reversal from the prior four years, when the foreign-born population grew by 8.3 million during Joe Biden’s presidency.
Pushback on Amnesty Push
“Despite constant hoaxes and fake news about ICE, immigration remains the Republicans’ best to focus on and build with voters in 2028,” the source said. “The administration will continue to prioritize securing the border, immigration enforcement, rooting out fraud, and restoring law and order.”
The comments come as some advocacy groups argued after the election that immigration policy, particularly aggressive enforcement, contributed to the GOP’s losses and that a Democrat-controlled Congress should pursue a broad legalization program for people in the country illegally.
But that argument runs into a complication: several House Republicans who backed amnesty-style legislation lost their seats anyway. Rep. Maria Salazar (R-FL) sponsored the DIGNIDAD Act, and while she and two of the bill’s co-sponsors narrowly held on, eight other co-sponsors were defeated by Democratic challengers, including Rep. Mike Lawler of New York and Rep. Gabe Evans of Colorado.
In Ohio, Rep. Mike Carey, who had objected to the administration ending Temporary Protected Status for Haitian nationals and voted with Democrats to extend that protection, lost his race. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, another Republican who voted to restore Haitian TPS, was also defeated.
A third Ohio Republican, Rep. Mike Turner, who also supported Haitian TPS, was trailing Democratic challenger Kristina Knickerbocker by fewer than 5,000 votes with 97.5 percent of the vote counted.
