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Whether or not the federal government should deport immigrants living in the United States illegally has historically been a tricky issue for Americans. They understand that illegal aliens are breaking the law, but the idea of law enforcement “rounding up” large groups and deporting them back to their home countries has always felt like a difficult task. And if we’re being honest, in some cases, a bit mean spirited.
The solution most Americans are looking for is to secure the border to protect our national security and develop a sane and timely immigration system that ensures officials know who is coming in and out of the country.
But the explosion of illegal immigration during the Biden administration – estimated 6 to to 9 million – is starting to change opinion about the urgency and efficacy of deportation. According to Gallup, in 2019 just 37% of Americans supported deporting all immigrants who are living in the United States illegally back to their home country, while 61% opposed that measure.
Today, according to Scott Rasmussen’s RMG Research, those numbers have flipped. In a newly published survey this week, 63%of Americans would support deporting most of the illegal aliens in the U.S., while only 28% would oppose it. Nearly 80% of Republicans say they favor deportation, which is no surprise. But the survey also shows 54% of Independents and 53%of all Democrats support deportation, while only 30% and 40%, respectively, oppose it. (Conducted by RMG Research, Inc. May 13-14, 2024 Margin of Sampling Error: +/- 3.1 percentage points)
Whether or not deporting millions of illegal aliens is the right thing to do or even feasible is still a controversial question on both sides of the aisle. But it shows that Americans are not only fed up with the lack of enforcement by the Biden Administration, but they are also beginning to favor more urgent and immediate measures out of concern for public safety and national security.