Just over half of Americans say that they support the mass deportation of illegal immigrants, a recent poll found as the issue takes center stage in the race for the presidency.
A slim majority of Americans, 51 percent, said that they support the mass deportation of illegal immigrants, a policy that former President Donald Trump has promised if he is reelected to the presidency in November. Support for mass deportations varied widely by partisan affiliation, with 68 percent of Republicans, 46 percent of Independents, and 42 percent of Democrats in support of the measure.
The poll of 6,251 people, performed by The Harris Poll on behalf of Axios, found that the Baby Boomer generation was the most likely to support deportations at 60 percent followed by Gen X at 53 percent, Millennials at 48 percent, and Gen Z at 35 percent. It also found that 56 percent of white Americans support the mass deportation of illegal immigrants, followed by 45 percent of Latinos and 40 percent of black Americans.
Americans also explained why they are concerned about illegal immigration, with 21 percent citing increased violence, crime, and drugs, 18 percent pointing to the costs borne by taxpayers, and 17 percent citing risks to our national security.
The Axios poll is just the latest in a growing series of surveys that have found that Biden’s handling of the border is wildly unpopular among voters. Only 20 percent of eligible voters say that the United States has control over its own borders, a recent poll on behalf of Newsweek found. A plurality of all age groups surveyed in the poll agreed.
This is the moment when TX National Guard became overrun by migrants rioting to get across the border here in El Paso today
We were there and saw it all happen. Absolute chaos here. pic.twitter.com/VN6Kf663ie
— Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) March 21, 2024
Another recent poll found that only 36 percent of voters approve of Biden’s handling of immigration, making it the incumbent Democrat’s lowest issue-specific approval rating for the fourth month in a row. Even polls from blue states like Colorado and Massachusetts found that voters say immigration is the biggest issue facing their respective states.
America has witnessed a drastic increase in illegal immigration under the Biden administration, with officials recording over 9.5 million nationwide encounters and 1.7 million estimated gotaways since the Democrat took office. The figure poses a sharp contrast with the 415,000 total reported gotaways for 2018, 2019, and 2020 under the Trump administration.
The border crisis has become one of the biggest issues heading into the November election, with Trump promising to initiate the “largest domestic deportation operation in American history” under a second presidential administration.