About four in 10 Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AAPI) adults support increasing green cards for backlogged countries like India (44%), worker visas (43%), and family-sponsored green cards (40%), according to a new poll.

But nearly as many prefer to keep current levels unchanged, according to the AAPI Data/AP-NORC Poll released Wednesday. Student visas receive the least support for expansion at 34%, with half (50%) preferring no change.

READ: Elon Musk guts federal government with mass layoffs (February 17, 2025)

On immigration policy, 31% of AAPI adults believe local police should always cooperate with federal immigration authorities on deportations, compared to 42% of the general population. More people in both groups support cooperation in some cases (56% vs. 49%), while relatively few say local police should never cooperate with federal authorities (13% vs. 8%).

Most AAPI adults want the government to concentrate more on everyday costs. They feel the federal government should do more to address high prices. About 8 in 10 AAPI adults say the federal government should make health care costs “a high priority,” while about 7 in 10 say the same about the cost of food, and roughly 6 in 10 feel similarly about housing.

The poll is part of an ongoing project exploring the views of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, whose views are usually not highlighted in other surveys because of small sample sizes and lack of linguistic representation.

Many AAPI adults believe the government is spending too little on a variety of policy areas, with education (64%) and healthcare (59%) topping the list.

Similar shares also say funding is insufficient for tackling homelessness (57%), environmental protection (57%), childcare (56%), crime (54%), and drug addiction (48%). Defense is the only area where relatively few (12%) say spending is too low and about half (52%) believe the government spends too much.

“The data show that amid economic uncertainty, AAPI adults—like much of the U.S. public—are focused on basic necessities,” says Jennifer Benz, deputy director of The AP-NORC Center. “Healthcare, food, and housing costs remain at the forefront of their concerns, reinforcing the importance of economic stability, which has consistently emerged as a major issue for AAPI communities.”

Similar to the general population who were asked in January 2025, AAPI adults show little support for major changes to the federal workforce under President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative.

About 4 in 10 AAPI and U.S. adults support a proposal that would bring federal employees back to an office five days a week, roughly a quarter favor moving federal agencies outside Washington, D.C. and cutting a large number of federal jobs, while just 12% of AAPI adults support eliminating federal agencies, even lower than the 23% of the general population.

Despite the lack of support for the DOGE proposals, AAPI communities, like the general population, see the issues the initiative aims to address as major problems.

A  majority view corruption, inefficiency, and government red tape as major problems in the federal government. However, concerns about civil servants resisting the president’s agenda are lower among AAPI adults (30%) and the general public (34%).

READ: DOGE leaders Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy target 94% of remote federal workers (December 9, 2024)

“The survey reveals that the frustration AAPI communities have with government bureaucracy does not equate to support for drastic cuts,” says Karthick Ramakrishnan, executive director of AAPI Data and researcher at UC Berkeley. “AAPI communities want the federal government to do more and deliver effectively on key issues like education, health care, homelessness, and environmental protection.”

Key findings 

• Most Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AAPI) adults think healthcare (79%), food (67%), and housing (61%) costs should be top priorities for the federal government to tackle. Many think that the government spends too little on key priorities, with education (64%) and healthcare (59%) topping the list.
• AAPI adults show little support for major changes proposed by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative. Just 12% of AAPI adults support eliminating federal agencies—significantly lower than the 23% of the general population.
• At least 6 in 10 AAPI adults see corruption (72%), inefficiency (68%), and red tape (61%) as major problems in federal government, indicating that the issues AAPI adults have with government bureaucracy does not equate to support for drastic cuts.
• 31% of AAPI adults believe local police should always cooperate with federal immigration authorities on deportations, compared with 42% of the general population. Additionally, over half of AAPI adults (56%) support cooperation in some cases while relatively few say local police should never cooperate with federal authorities (13%).
• AAPI adults largely trust doctors (74%) and nurses (72%) to act in their best interest, similar to the general population. And regarding the high cost of healthcare in the U.S., most AAPI adults hold pharmaceutical companies (77%) and private health insurers (73%) responsible.