Most Americans likely to vote in this year’s presidential election say they prefer deporting all illegal aliens from the United States rather than giving them amnesty, a new poll reveals.
The Rasmussen Reports survey found that a majority, 54 percent, of likely U.S. voters said they support a policy to deport all 11 to 22 million illegal aliens — including 36 percent who said they strongly support such a policy.
Working and lower-middle class Americans, those most likely to compete for jobs against illegal aliens, remain highly supportive of deportations. Nearly 60 percent of those likely voters who are not college-educated said they support deporting illegal aliens.
At the same time, those Americans most likely to hire illegal aliens for below-market wages are the most opposed to such a deportation policy. A wide majority, 63 percent, of those earning $200,000 or more a year said they do not support deporting illegal aliens.
Fewer than 4-in-10 likely voters said they oppose mass deportations of illegal aliens.
RELATED: Sen. Marco Rubio: I Support Mass Deportation, We Have to Do Something Dramatic to Remove Illegal Immigrants
The poll is welcome news for former President Donald Trump, who has vowed to implement “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history.”
Meanwhile, 53 percent of likely voters said they oppose granting amnesty to illegal aliens, which would provide them with green cards and, eventually, naturalized American citizenship. A minority of about 41 percent of likely voters said they support amnesty.
As with deportations, Americans are divided on amnesty across socioeconomic lines — showing again the winners and losers of illegal immigration.
For example, likely voters making $30,000 to $50,000 a year said by a 55-percent majority that they oppose amnesty, as are 51 percent of those earning $50,000 to $100,000. Conversely, almost 6-in-10 likely voters earning $200,000 or more support amnesty for illegal aliens.
President Joe Biden has long embraced amnesty, calling illegal aliens “model citizens” while promoting the policy at a White House event this month.
RELATED: Joe Biden Calls Illegal Aliens “Model Citizens” in Amnesty Push
Research from the Center for Immigration Studies suggests that nearly 6-in-10 newly arrived immigrants to the U.S. under Biden are illegal aliens.
The survey included more than 1,000 likely voters and was conducted from May 12 through May 14. The margin of error is +/- 3 percentage points.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.