Most Americans Do Not Want Deportation of Young Immigrants

According to the findings of a new poll, only one in five Americans would like to see the deportation of young undocumented immigrants who came to the US as minors. The ‘Dreamers’ are the focus of a contentious political argument between Congress and the White House, with President Donald Trump telling lawmakers at the weekend that to protect the young immigrants from being deported, they will also need to agree to some hard-line immigration priorities.

60 percent of Americans want to see Dreamers allowed to remain legally in the US, with 22 percent against the idea, and only 19 percent believing that they should be deported. Eight out of 10 Democrats and four out of 10 Republicans want to see protections extended, as do 57 percent of white people, 61 percent of black people, and 68 percent of Hispanics.

Todd Schulte, the president of immigration advocacy group, FWD.us, says that the poll indicates a growing level of support for the idea of offering a pathway to US citizenship to young undocumented immigrants, and called it “the single most united issue” in the US.

The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Research poll also indicates that just below 50 percent of Americans do not want to see the much-talked-about wall on the border between the US and Mexico actually get built, and only 32 percent are fully in favor of it.