WASHINGTON (AP) — Many American adults are on board with the idea of increasing security at the southern border and some targeted deportations, according to a poll. But Donald Trump is starting his second term as president with a streak. Executive Orders on Immigrationthe findings suggest that his actions may move the country too far beyond the limited consensus on the issue.
There is a clear desire for some sort of action on US-Mexico border security, according to the survey. Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. According to the poll, half of American adults think increasing border security should be a high priority for the federal government, and 3 in 10 say it should be a moderate priority. Only 2 in 10, roughly, consider it a low priority.
A majority of American adults favor deporting immigrants convicted of violent crimes and the Trump administration’s deportation efforts. Can start there. But Trump’s Preliminary Administrative Orders have gone much further than that — including efforts to keep asylum seekers in Mexico and end automatic citizenship.
And Trump, a Republican, has signaled an aggressive and potentially divisive approach, vowing to deport millions of people who are fleeing the border while declaring a “national emergency at our southern border.” had entered the country illegally. 4 in 10 American adults support deporting all immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, and a similar share oppose it.
Most Americans believe that local police should cooperate with federal immigration authorities on deportations in at least some cases, but doing so can become increasingly unpopular. On Tuesday, the Trump administration Throw out the policies Limiting arrests of immigrants to sensitive locations such as schools and churches, even though changes to such arrests would be largely unpopular.
Some support for further immigration enforcement
Immigration was a key issue in the 2024 election, and polls show it remains a high priority for many Americans after Trump takes office.
Illegal border crossings increased under Trump’s predecessor, President Joe Biden, border arrests from Mexico A peak of 250,000 In December 2023. Despite Trump’s claims of an immigrant invasion, there are crossings. Since then it has sunkbetween the Increased enforcement of Mexico and the Democratic Biden administration’s June 2024 executive order that dramatically limited asylum claims at the border.
But memories of these growing numbers, and the chaos that ensued when immigrants were settled in northern cities by Republican governors, may have helped shape American attitudes. The survey found that nearly half of Americans believe the government is spending “too little” on border security, and a majority favor deporting people convicted of violent crimes.
“I want to see more people come here legally,” said Manuel Morales, 60, a Democrat who lives near Moline, Illinois. He first came to the United States nearly 40 years ago after crossing the border illegally from Mexico. “But at the same time, I’m against all the convoys that come (to the border) with thousands and thousands of people at a time,” said Morales, an Internet provider technician.
He deeply sympathizes with immigrants who come to America to escape oppression or poverty and feels that too many Americans do not understand the years of effort required to enter the United States legally. Nevertheless, they also believe that the number of refugees has become too high in the last few years.
“We just can’t receive everyone in this county,” he said.
Trump’s biggest plans are less popular.
Trump rarely gives specifics when he calls for mass deportations, but polls show many Americans are ambivalent about mass roundups of people living in the U.S. illegally. .
Removing immigrants who are in the country illegally and have not committed violent crimes is highly divisive, with only 4 in 10 American adults in support and slightly more than 4 in 10 opposed.
And relatively few Americans, about 3 in 10, somewhat or strongly favor changing the Constitution so that children born in the U.S. are not automatically granted citizenship if their parents are in the country illegally. I am About 2 in 10 are neutral, and about half are somewhat or strongly opposed.
Doug Devore is a 57-year-old Republican from southern Indiana who believes immigration “got worse during the Biden administration.”
But the idea of large-scale operations to check people’s immigration status makes him nervous.
“I probably wouldn’t be 100% against it,” he said. “But there’s a fine line” between collecting information on people who are in the U.S. illegally and automatically deporting them, added DeVore, who works in a candy factory.
Local cooperation with immigration authorities is popular — but not arrests in schools or churches.
Like the Trump administration Ready to attack. Sanctuary Jurisdictions That Limit Cooperation with Federal Immigration Authorities Polls show that a majority of American adults believe that police in their communities should cooperate with federal immigration authorities to at least some In cases where people in the country illegally can be deported.
Only 1 in 10 Americans say local police should never cooperate with federal law enforcement on these deportations.
However, there is disagreement as to whether cooperation should be across the board or whether it should only be occasional. About two-thirds of Republicans say local police should always cooperate, a view shared by only a quarter of Democrats. But relatively few Democrats say local police should never cooperate and a majority, about two-thirds, say cooperation should occur in some cases.
And a wave of arrests can quickly trigger a backlash, depending on how they happen. U.S. immigration agents have long adhered to guidance that prohibits arresting parents or students at schools and other sensitive locations, but some of Trump’s statements have raised questions about whether those policies will remain in place.
The survey found that a shift to illegally arresting people in places like churches and schools in the country would be highly unpopular. Only 2 in 10 American adults somewhat or strongly favor arresting children who are in the country illegally while they are in school, and a similar share support arresting those who are in the country illegally. Those who are in the country illegally when they are in church. A solid majority, nearly 6 in 10, opposes such arrests.
Even Republicans aren’t fully on board — fewer than half favor arresting children in schools or people in church.
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Sullivan reported from Minneapolis.
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The AP-NORC poll of 1,147 adults was conducted Jan. 9-13, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
