Do Americans favor deporting undocumented immigrants? Depends on the method, poll finds

Kate Linderman, The Charlotte Observer on Jan 20, 2025

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The majority of Americans favor deporting undocumented immigrants, aligning with President Donald Trump’s promises for his second term, according to a new poll.

The Axios/Ipsos poll released Jan. 19 found that support for deportation was spearheaded by Republicans.

Two-thirds of respondents supported deportations of undocumented immigrants, but Democrats largely disagreed with Republicans in the poll.

Of the Republicans polled, 93% supported deporting undocumented immigrants while 43% of Democrats said they were in favor. Sixty-seven percent of independents favored deportations.

However, support drastically declined when Americans were asked how deportations should be carried out, the new poll found.

Most respondents opposed using active duty military to carry out mass deportations, separating families, sending immigrants to countries they are not from, deporting those who came to the U.S. illegally as children and using U.S. military dollars to pay for deportations, according to the poll.

This poll comes as Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are gearing up to conduct mass deportations in the days after Trump takes office for his second term, NBC reported. Documents obtained by the news outlet showed deportations could begin as early as Jan. 21, but leaks to the media could postpone the plans.

Republicans, 71%, showed the most support for “using active duty military to find and detain undocumented immigrants in U.S. cities and towns,” the poll found. Just 12% of Democrats and 34% of independents responded favorably to this idea.

Despite Republican support for using active duty military to carry out deportations, they opposed using military funds to pay for it, the poll found.

Approximately one-third of those interviewed also supported deporting undocumented immigrants who came into the country when they were children, the poll found.

Additionally, about one-in-five Republicans said they favored deporting immigrants living in the United States legally. Just 10% of all respondents supported the idea.

The poll surveyed 1,025 Americans aged 18 and over between Jan. 10 to 12. It had a margin of error of 3.2 percentage points. Ipsos interviewed 301 Republicans, 309 Democrats and 294 Independents.

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