Polls Deliver Clear Verdict: Americans Back Trump’s Deportation Agenda, Reject Anti-ICE Politics

Two new polls suggest that Americans broadly support the Trump administration’s deportation agenda even as “ICE Out” rages at the Grammys, though with some possible reservations about illegal aliens who have not committed other serious crimes.

The polling firm Cygnal released the results of a late January poll on Monday that shows majority support for deportations of illegal aliens. Conversely, Democratic calls to defund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and partially shut down the government over deportations are politically toxic.

“Voters see illegal immigration as a simple question of law and order,” said Cygnal founder and CEO Brent Buchanan. “The data leaves no wiggle room. Americans want the law enforced, they want illegal immigrants removed, and they punish politicians who try to block ICE from doing its job.”

The Cygnal poll was conducted from January 27–28 and has a margin of error of 3.09%. Pollsters questioned 1,004 likely 2026 midterm general election voters.

The Cygnal poll found that Americans support deporting illegal aliens by 61% to 34%, nearly 2 to 1 in favor of deportations. An even greater share, 73%, agree that entering the United States without legal permission is a violation of law. A slimmer majority, 54%, support ICE enforcing federal immigration laws and conducting deportations.

The poll also shows that Democrats’ anti-ICE stance is likely to bring electoral trouble if Republicans can capitalize. Polling results show that after voters are told Democrats want to defund ICE or shut down the government over ICE funding, the generic ballot swings four points in favor of Republicans.

The results of a January Harvard-Harris poll, also released on Monday, show more mixed results for the Trump administration. The poll was conducted from January 28-29 and involved responses from 2,000 registered voters. The margin of error is 1.99%.

The results of the poll show that Americans support the administration’s approach to deportations in Minneapolis as long as they perceive that it is targeted against aliens who have committed significant crimes, not against random illegal aliens. In fact, “[d]eporting immigrants who are here illegally and have committed crimes” is Trump’s second most popular policy with 73% support.

If Americans perceive that ICE is taking a dragnet approach and sweeping up illegal aliens “randomly,” support for deportations falls to 44%.

Americans appear to disapprove of resistance to ICE’s mission. Two-thirds of Americans agree that elected state and local officials should cooperate with immigration authorities to deport criminal illegal aliens. The same percentage of Americans say that local jails should turn over criminal aliens for deportation.

Americans are split among those aliens who should be targeted by ICE. There is overwhelming support to deport those who have “committed serious crimes,” 82%. Green card holders and legal permanent residents who have committed serious crimes should also be deported, say 63% of Americans. Fifty-eight percent of Americans say aliens who have “overstayed their visas” should be deported.

But the numbers are almost evenly split for aliens “who crossed the border recently but [have] no criminal record” and legal residents who “organized activities undermining U.S. foreign policy.”

Americans are solidly against deporting illegal aliens who have lived in the country for years without committing serious crimes, who arrived in the United States as children, or who are legal residents who have only committed minor infractions.