Steve Cortes, former senior spokesman and strategist for the 2016 and 2020 Trump campaigns and current head of the League of American Workers, said new polling shows Michigan voters are increasingly opposed to additional Muslim immigration in the state.
TechnoMetrica (TIPP) conducted an online survey of 1,456 registered voters in Michigan for Cortes’ League of American Workers from May 20 to May 23, 2026.
Speaking on Tuesday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, Cortes said the poll found strong opposition among Michigan voters to what he described as “mass Muslim migration” into the state.
“So I just polled the state of Michigan and found, we asked about Muslim migration to that state, and we found a resounding disapproval from the good citizens of Michigan for mass Muslim migration into their state,” Cortes said. “And they’ve had a heck of a lot of it.”
Cortes pointed to the cities of Dearborn and Hamtramck as examples of communities with large Muslim populations.
“As a lot of your audience is probably aware, the area of Dearborn and that vicinity, Hamtramck those places in the suburbs of Detroit are almost entirely Arab and Muslim, to the point where they’re almost becoming Sharia law centers within the state of Michigan, within the United States,” he said.
According to Cortes, the poll asked respondents whether Michigan had too many or too few Muslim immigrants.
“We asked are there too many Muslim immigrants versus too few. Six to one ratio overall, this is the overall state of Michigan, by six to one they say too many Muslim immigrants,” Cortes said.
He said one of the findings he considered most notable involved voters who supported former Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Among Kamala Harris voters, this to me was one of the most telling parts of the poll, among Kamala Harris voters, almost two to one, too many Muslim immigrants,” Cortes said.
He also emphasized that the poll was conducted in a state where he said President Donald Trump’s standing was relatively weak.
“This was not a good poll on the whole for the president,” Cortes said. “His approval was only 36 percent job approval, 58 percent disapproved, so minus 22 percent net approval ratio in a state that he previously won, of course, in 2024.”
“So this was by no means a stacked, or a skewed America First poll,” he added. “But the citizens of Michigan resoundingly across demographics, across partisan lines, say too many Muslim immigrants into our state.”
During Tuesday’s interview, Leahy cited figures suggesting Muslims make up approximately 2.5 percent of Michigan’s population and asked whether the state has one of the highest Muslim population shares in the country.
Cortes responded that he was unsure about the statewide ranking but argued that Dearborn stands out because of its local political leadership.
“What I can say is that it’s definitely the highest concentration that now effectively runs a city — meaning Dearborn specifically,” Cortes said. “So in other words, the entire city council, the mayor, the police chief, everyone Muslim.”
Cortes also argued that immigration trends in Michigan mirror broader developments elsewhere.
“This is spreading across the U.S.,” he said. “Texas unfortunately has welcomed a ton of Muslim migrants in recent years. Texas has a growing problem here.”
Referencing Europe, Cortes said he believes the U.S. should take a different approach to immigration.
“I think all we have to do is look at Europe for the negative example of what we do not want to become,” he said. “Let’s not become Europe. Let’s learn from their example.”
Cortes argued that immigration policy should focus on cultural assimilation and support for American values.
“It’s sensible for us to say what kind of migrants come to our country, love our values, love Western civilization, embrace our way of life, want to assimilate into the United States?” he said. “There’s nothing racist, there’s nothing xenophobic about that worldview. We should defend our culture, defend our national security, and defend our wages. So all of these are reasonable criteria for us to filter new migrants into this country.”
“I would argue that Muslims overwhelmingly are not compatible with the American way of life and with our Western civilization-loving values,” he added.
Cortes detailed what he described as a policy solution to address immigration concerns.
“The policy solution I believe is, first of all, I think it’s time for an overall legal immigration pause in this country,” he said.
While acknowledging that such a position may not command majority support, Cortes said immigration officials should be more selective about whom they admit into the country.
“We are very much in the majority of saying, wait a second, who are we gonna let in here legally, and do people from poor Islamic countries make sense for the United States? And I would argue overwhelmingly that they do not,” Cortes said. “What I would prefer is just an overall pause on immigration, on legal immigration, but if that’s not going to happen, let’s at least get smarter and more stringent about who we do let in. There’s nothing wrong with saying we’re gonna prioritize people who believe in Western values, believe in Christianity, love this country, and are coming here to be producers rather than takers.”
He added, “We’ve got to be smarter and frankly more discriminatory, and yes, I’m saying that word…in the right way, right? To protect, but not for the sake of discrimination, but for the sake of protecting what we have built here and protecting American citizens.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
