Illegal immigration, it’s clear, was one of the key factors in Donald Trump’s sweeping win over Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. Americans expect action from the White House, including using the military to deport those who are here illegally, according to the latest I&I/TIPP Poll data.
Some 1,411 adult voters were asked the following question: “How important is it for Trump to quickly find and deport illegal immigrants with criminal records?” Possible responses included “very important,” “somewhat important,” “not very important,” “not at all important,” and “not sure.
The national online poll, taken from Nov. 27-29, has a margin of error of +/-2.6 percentage points.
It should come as no great shock that an overwhelming 69% of respondents said it was either very important (41%) or somewhat important (28%) to roundup and deport illegals with criminal backgrounds quickly, while just 26% said it was either not very important (13%) or not at all important (13%). Another 6% weren’t sure.
Americans, traditionally strongly pro-immigrant in their views, apparently draw a stark line when it comes to letting those with criminal records come into the U.S. illegally.
And it’s an issue on which there is a multi-partisan consensus that action needs to be taken. Democrats split 50% (important) to 44% (not important) on the question, compared to 90% to 9% among Republicans, and 68% to 25% among independents and third-party voters.
Some in the media have suggested that removing criminal illegal aliens is racist. But that doesn’t appear to be the case.
Among Hispanics, for instance, 63% agree that it’s important to deport criminals, along with 53% of African-Americans. Just 31% of Hispanics and 33% of blacks say it’s not important. It’s something that has strong backing among all groups, with no major demographic showing less than 50%.
This was followed by a second question: “Trump is considering the use of the U.S. military to deport illegal immigrants. Do you approve or disapprove of this plan?” Those who answered were given five responses: “Approve strongly,” “approve somewhat,” “disapprove strongly,” “disapprove somewhat,” and “not sure.”
Once again, there was a clear majority overall of voters approving of President-elect Trump’s plan, with 55% saying they either approve strongly (29%) or somewhat (26%). Among the 37% who disapproved, 13% disapproved only somewhat, while 24% disapproved strongly.
Here, splits by political party were evident. Only 31% of Democrats agreed to the idea of using the military to remove potentially dangerous illegals, compared to 87% of Republicans and 50% of independents.
And on this question, sensitivities showed in the minority response. Only 41% of blacks and Hispanics, the two largest minority groups, approved of using the military, while 49% disapproved. For whites, it was 62% approve, 33% disapprove.
Finally, I&I/TIPP asked a question that dealt specifically with the many “sanctuary cities” that actively oppose deporting illegal immigrants from within their city borders.
The question: “Many sanctuary city mayors have stated they will not cooperate with Trump on deporting illegal immigrants. Do you support or oppose their stance?”
The answer that came back was more ambiguous than for the other two, perhaps reflecting the large urban-suburban sample of most national polls. And the majority answer seemed to reflect the inherent federalism of the U.S. system.
Of those responding, an overall slim 46% plurality supported the stance, while 45% opposed it. Statistically, that’s equal.
Broken down further, 53% of urban dwellers supported the sanctuary mayors, while only 37% opposed them. Support fell in the suburbs (46% support, 48% oppose) and even further in rural areas (36% support the sanctuary mayors, 53% oppose).
Likewise, an ethnic and racial split emerged, with blacks (50% support, 31% oppose) and Hispanics (58% support, 34% oppose) differing with white Americans at 44% support and 50% oppose.
Where does that leave us? There remain majorities or significant minorities of Americans, depending on the question, who want the U.S. to get tougher on the border. That’s especially true when it comes to illegal immigrants who come to the U.S. and commit crimes or those who arrive already having committed serious crimes in their home country.
Democrats’ support for weak or no immigration restrictions has begun to wane as post-2024 election polls show a big reason why they lost the presidency and both houses of Congress was one word: immigration.
The Democrat polling firm BluePrint2024, for instance, plainly asserted that immigration was the issue that turned the tide in favor of Trump and the GOP:
Among total swing voters who ultimately chose Trump, immigration was a key issue, with 77% of them believing that it was “extremely” or “very accurate” to say Democrats are “not tough enough on addressing the border crisis” and 73% feeling the same way about Democrats “support[ing] immigrants more than American citizens”.
Democrat politicians were harsh on their own party.
“We destroyed ourselves on the immigration issue in ways that were entirely predictable and entirely manageable. We utterly mismanaged that issue, including our Democratic caucus here,” one Democratic senator told The Hill. “That’s political malpractice. That’s not someone else’s fault. That’s not the groups pushing us around.”
But Americans, as noted, aren’t anti-immigration. They just don’t like illegal immigration, as polls plainly show, and they especially don’t like criminals coming here and costing the economy hundreds of billions of dollars while committing violent crimes and disrupting communities.
And no, those aren’t made-up amounts. The Crime Prevention Research Center recently estimated that crime from the “top targets” of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations totaled $166.5 billion.
“Murders account for almost $153.8 billion of the $166.5 billion in estimated criminal victimization costs. Another $6 billion involves sexual assaults/offenses, and an additional $5.2 billion comes from sexual assaults and sexual offenses,” wrote John Lott, Jr., president of the CPRC.
The issue has heated up as violent foreign gangs have infiltrated U.S. cities across its lightly guarded border, setting up crime rings and committing violent offenses. Gang names like Tren De Aragua, MS-13, the Latin Kings and 18th Street Gang, once rare, have now become known across the country, by citizens and police alike.
Meanwhile, apart from crime, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) headed by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy has already issued an estimate for the cost of illegal immigration in 2023’s budget at $151 billion, roughly 2.6% of total spending.
And the flow of newcomers from abroad hasn’t ended. The surge is unprecedented. As the Wall Street Journal recently reported:
“Since 2021, immigration has added around 10 million people to the U.S. population, according to Congressional Budget Office estimates. Less than one-third came into the country legally on immigrant visas, work or student visas, or as refugees. Many of the rest crossed the border without authorization or overstayed their visas, often requesting to stay on humanitarian grounds once they had entered.”
With local financial and human costs of illegal immigration soaring, many Americans have become fed up. What once was seen as a “border” problem has now gone national, and they want action. Donald Trump promised that, and won. Kamala Harris vowed to keep the status quo, and lost.
I&I/TIPP publishes timely, unique, and informative data each month on topics of public interest. TIPP’s reputation for polling excellence comes from being the most accurate pollster for the past six presidential elections.
Terry Jones is an editor of Issues & Insights. His four decades of journalism experience include serving as national issues editor, economics editor, and editorial page editor for Investor’s Business Daily.
