New York | Donald Trump leveraged a resurgent poll lead with a fired-up rally on Sunday night (Monday AEDT) at a packed Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, where he doubled down on illegal immigration, claiming it was now a bigger problem for America than the economy.

The New York native found renewed confidence in a national poll boost – which has him beating Democratic rival Kamala Harris for the first time since July – and a massive turnout in the mainly Democratic-voting city. About 200,000 people had registered to attend the event, according to Trump’s campaign, although the iconic venue holds only about 20,000.