A University of California, Irvine (UCI) survey released on 19/8/2025 on immigration policy reveals that 60% of Orange county residents believe undocumented immigrants should have the opportunity to apply for legal status. 28% believe they should be deported.
UCI surveyed 800 adults in Orange county, California from the last week of June to the first week of July. According to the latest data, Orange county voters are 36.4% Democrat, 34.3% Republican, and 23.1% independent.
The county's division on immigration policy is evident along party lines. Roughly 80% of Democrats and nearly 70% of independents support offering legal status to undocumented immigrants, while 60% of Republicans favor deportation.
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A sign in Orange county, California. Photo: OC Register |
A sign in Orange county, California. Photo: OC Register
The UCI poll also revealed a generational divide on the issue. Three-quarters of Orange county residents under 35 support legal status for undocumented immigrants, compared to 45% of those over 65.
Jon Gould, dean of UCI's School of Social Ecology and the survey's lead researcher, suggests this generational difference reflects Orange county's changing demographics. Younger residents are more likely to know immigrants or be descendants of immigrant families.
"Orange county now has third-generation descendants of earlier immigrants, meaning there are three generations of immigrants who have come to California and live in Orange county. It is quite possible that young people are in networks where they are more familiar with more recent immigrants," Gould said.
The UCI survey did not ask respondents whether they were immigrants. UCI did inquire about respondents' ancestry but did not release that information.
The survey was conducted during a period of increased immigration enforcement by the Trump administration in California, including Orange county. During his presidential campaign, Trump pledged to launch the largest deportation campaign in U.S. history, aiming to deport over 10 million people.
According to the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), Orange county is home to an estimated 236,000 undocumented immigrants.
Duc Trung (Orange County Register)
