Washington, DC — Several new polls confirm that President Trump and Stephen Miller’s mass deportation agenda is unpopular among most Americans. At the behest of Stephen Miller, ICE is going after deeply rooted and hard-working Dreamers and family and community members – the polar opposite of the types of dangerous “invaders” Trump and Miller portray. As Philip Bump of the Washington Post noted, this week, “ICE detentions of people with no criminal records are up nearly 900 percent over the same period last year.”
Little wonder that key industry voices, economic analysts and Republican Members of Congress are starting to speak out with concern about the harms of unsparing and indiscriminate mass deportations targeting long-settled community members and workers. As Axios recapped, Representatives Mario Diaz-Balart, Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), Tony Gonzales (R-TX) and David Valadao (R-CA) went on the record this week to express concerns about mass deportation. As Rep. Valadao phrased it, we should “prioritize the removal of known criminals over the hardworking people who have lived peacefully in the Valley for years.” Of note, Trump and Miller are now looking to turbocharge the chaos and disappearing of community members, including through the $151.3 billion in immigration funding contained in the big ugly bill pending in Congress.
According to Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice:
“Deep cracks are showing in the Trump and Miller mass deportation agenda. Their violent and ugly scheme is rightly unpopular and is sparking business and community outcry. Key agricultural and Latino dominated congressional districts – and Members – are feeling the political heat as they should be. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle need to speak out and denounce Trump’s agenda. They must turn their concern into firm opposition by rejecting the $150 billion in the pending budget bill that would turbocharge the Trump-Miller mass deportation devastation and costs to all Americans.”
Below, find several new polls that underscore the unpopularity of the Trump-Miller mass deportation agenda
As Aaron Blake assessed for CNN, “The administration seems to have moved from focusing on undocumented immigrants who they allege have committed crimes to a much broader campaign, including targeting workplaces like Home Depot …. While Americans strongly favor the broad concept of deporting undocumented immigrants, that comes with some real caveats. People love the idea of deporting criminals and recent border-crossers. Polls suggest they do not like the idea of deporting the kinds of people these lawmakers mentioned,” referring to the House Republicans speaking out.
Fresh polling underscores Blake’s analysis and the longstanding point made by America’s Voice (see our recent polling and public opinion memo here): Trump’s mass deportation agenda is very unpopular when details are included about who is being targeted and the scope of Trump and Miller’s enforcement. Specifically, new polling this week includes:
- Washington Post/Schar School polling: Americans disapprove of “the way President Trump is handling immigration enforcement, including deportations“ by a 52-37% margin. The same poll also found more Americans “oppose” (44%) than “support” (41%) the Trump administration choice to send in the National Guard and Marines to “respond to the L.A. protests.”
- Quinnipiac Poll: When asked to gauge Trump’s handling of “immigration issues,” Americans disapprove by a 54-43% margin and disapprove of his handling of “deportations” by an even wider 56-40% margin.
- AP-NORC: Trump’s approval is 46-53% underwater on immigration, including 62-33% disapproval among Independents.
