Gabriel Kotico / The White House / Flickr
A majority of Americans indicate support for President Donald Trump’s immigration and deportation policies, despite widespread anti-ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) riots in Los Angeles this past weekend, according to RealClearPolling.
Conducted June 4-6, a CBS News poll found that 54% of Americans support Trump’s program to deport illegal immigrants, with 46% disapproving. RealClearPolling reported that many respondents (42%) said they believe deporting illegal immigrants makes people in the US safer, while 30% disagreed and said deportations make US citizens less safe.
A slim majority of respondents said they believed Trump was prioritizing the deportation of dangerous criminals, while a large minority said he was not (53% vs. 47%).
“Support for the deportation program largely depended on how respondents viewed its scope,” RealClearPolling noted. “Among those who believed Trump was deporting fewer or about as many immigrants as expected, 66% approved. However, among those who believed the administration was deporting more people than expected, only 42% approved.”
The outlet added that the Trump administration’s wish to deport illegal immigrants without a court hearing — arguing that holding court hearings for every illegal immigrant would take centuries — received significantly less support than its other immigration-related actions. Sixty-three percent said illegal immigrants should receive a court hearing prior to being deported, while 37% agreed with the administration and said a court hearing was not necessary.
Although Trump holds a net -2.1 approval rating, with 45% approving of his job performance and 55% disapproving, approval of his overall handling of immigration is much higher, registering at 50%. Americans also approve more of his approach to immigration than his handling of other issues, such as the economy, which only garnered 42% approval. According to an October Economist/YouGov poll, Trump’s immigration policies have remained a strong point for him, as they received strong support even prior to the election.
