Just over half of Americans now say they would support the mass deportation of illegal migrants, a poll released Thursday found.
The 51% who approve of the action includes 42% of Democrats, as well as 68% of Republicans and 46% of Independents, according to the Axios Vibes/The Harris Poll survey. Approximately two-thirds of respondents believe illegal immigration is a legitimate crisis as President Joe Biden’s administration has seen record numbers of border crossings.
Mark Penn, chairman of The Harris Poll, told Axios that Biden’s “efforts to shift responsibility for the issue to [former President Donald] Trump are not going to work.”
“I was surprised at the public support for large-scale deportations,” Penn said. “I think they’re just sending a message to politicians: ‘Get this under control.’”
Border Patrol had 137,480 encounters at the southern border in March, and has already seen 1 million in fiscal year 2024, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data. Fiscal year 2022 included nearly 2.2 million encounters and fiscal year 2023 had 2 million.
A majority of White Americans would support mass deportations, while 45% of Latinos and 40% of black respondents said the same, according to the poll.
Increased crime rates, drugs and violence; added costs to taxpayers; and potential terrorism and national security risks are Americans’ top concerns related to illegal immigration, according to the poll.
The survey also found that Americans largely support immigration as long as it’s legal, with 65% saying the U.S. should make it easier for those wanting a better life to legally enter the country so they don’t try to illegally.
“The tradeoff here in the poll is, people would take expanded legal immigration if they saw there’s a crackdown on the border,” Penn said.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was impeached by the House in February over his handling of the border crisis, but the Democratic-controlled Senate dismissed the two articles without a trial on April 17.
The issue has become a main point on the campaign trail as illegal immigration continues to rank among the top concerns Americans have ahead of November. Polling suggests voters trust Trump by double digits more than Biden on the issue.
The poll surveyed 6,251 U.S. adults between March 29-31, April 5-7, and April 12-14, and it has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.5%.
Neither Biden’s campaign nor the White House immediately responded to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
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