Forty-four percent of respondents approve of President Donald Trump’s handling of the economy, while 38 percent disapprove. | Getty Poll: 44 percent approve of Trump's handling of the economy

A new CBS News poll gives President Donald Trump generally high marks for his handling of the economy but finds that immigration is the issue the president and Congress must tackle this year.

Forty-four percent of respondents approve of Trump’s handling of the economy, while 38 percent disapprove. Respondents are more split on his handling of terrorism, with 44 percent approving and 46 percent disapproving. The president gets less support for his work on foreign policy and immigration, with 34 percent approving and 53 percent disapproving of his foreign policy and 39 percent approving and 55 percent disapproving of Trump on immigration.


The poll was conducted largely before the White House released memos on deportation and illegal immigration on Tuesday morning.

A poll out Wednesday from Quinnipiac University showed Trump with an overall approval rating of 38 percent and disapproval rating of 55 percent.

The CBS News poll also shows that 15 percent of respondents say immigration is the most important problem to address, followed by jobs and the economy (13 percent) and health care (11 percent).

In addition, a majority of Americans — 55 percent — say not enough is being done to make sure foreigners entering the U.S. don’t pose a threat. But 60 percent of respondents also say that illegal immigrants should have a path to legal citizenship.

The poll was conducted Feb. 17-21 among 1,280 adults nationwide by both landline and cellphones.