Washington elites may scoff, but a majority of likely voters are on board with GOP candidate Donald Trumps’ call for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a new poll.
A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey released Wednesday reveal that 70 percent of likely Republican voters believe the U.S. should build a wall alone the southern border. Just 17 percent of GOP voters disagreed and 13 percent were undecided.
Among all likely voters, 51 percent said they favored building a border wall, with 37 percent disagreeing, and 12 percent who were not sure.
The poll of 1,000 likely voters conducted on August 17-18 also probed voter opinion on whether the U.S. should deport all illegal immigrants convicted of felonies. Ninety-two percent of likely GOP voters agreed, while just 4 percent disagreed.
An aspect of Trump’s immigration proposal is returning all criminal aliens to their home countries.
Meanwhile among all likely voters 80 percent support deportation for illegal immigrant convicted felons. Just 11 percent opposed that.
Rasmussen notes that men and older Americans are stronger supporters of a border wall than women and younger voters, however they have more agreement on deporting criminal illegal immigrants.
“Sizable majorities in nearly all demographic categories favor deporting illegal immigrants convicted here of felony crimes,” Rasmussen explains. “But Democrats are less enthusiastic about such a policy than Republicans and voters not affiliated with either major party are. Only 30% of Democrats favor building a wall, compared to 57% of unaffiliated voters.”
Additionally, 94 percent of voters who support the idea of building a border wall also support deportation of illegal immigrant convicts and 65 percent of those who oppose a border wall also support removal for illegal immigrant convicts.
“Rasmussen Reports has found consistently for years that most voters want the border with Mexico secured to prevent further illegal immigration before there is any talk of amnesty,” the outlet noted. “In May, 63% said gaining control of the border is more important than legalizing the status of undocumented workers already living in the United States, the highest level of support for border control since December 2011.”
Rasmussen’s poll has a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points.
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