Axios/Harris Poll: Most Support Mass Deportations

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Half of Americans, including 42% of Democrats, said they would support mass deportations of undocumented migrants, according to a poll released Thursday.

The Harris Poll conducted for Axios also showed 30% of Democrats and 46% of Republicans say they would end the birthright citizenship guaranteed under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.

According to the poll, the Biden administration is “most responsible” for the crisis, outranking any other political or structural factor — with nearly two-thirds saying illegal immigration is a real crisis and not a politically driven media narrative, Axios reported.

“I was surprised at the public support for large-scale deportations,” said Mark Penn, chair of The Harris Poll and a former pollster for President Bill Clinton told the outlet.

“I think they’re just sending a message to politicians: ‘Get this under control,’” Penn said, calling it a warning to Biden that “efforts to shift responsibility for the issue to [former President Donald] Trump are not going to work.”

Trump vowed to launch the “largest domestic deportation operation in American history” that would target millions of undocumented migrants.

Other poll findings were that:

  • 51% say they support mass deportations of undocumented migrants.
  • 21% fear increased crime rates, drugs, and violence as a result of illegal migration, while 18% fear added costs to taxpayers, and 17% fear the risk of terrorism and national security.
  • 58% say they support expanding legal pathways for orderly immigration, while 46% say asylum seekers should be protected if their cases are legitimate.
  • 68% say illegal migration causes major problems in communities, while only 27% say the same about legal migration.
  • 65% say the U.S. should make it easier for anyone seeking a better life to enter legally.

Axios also noted that 64% incorrectly believe migrants get more in welfare and benefits than they pay in taxes, while 56% wrongly believe illegal migration is linked to spiking U.S. crimes — noting reporting that shows border cities have some of the nation’s lowest violent crime rates.

“The tradeoff here in the poll is, people would take expanded legal immigration if they saw there’s a crackdown on the border,” Penn told Axios.

The survey has a margin of error of 1.5 percentage points.

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