 In 2009–2010, the American Immigration Lawyers Association gave Himes a rating of 100% for his stance on the defense of undocumented immigrants in the U.S.

Himes lobbied the Electoral College to refuse to vote for Donald Trump and to instead elect Hillary Clinton.On December 12, 2016, in an interview on CNN's "New Day," he said that he was troubled by several actions by the president-elect.The issue that "pushed me over the edge" was Trump's criticism of the CIA and the intelligence community.