Poll: Nearly One-Third of Registered Voters Say All Illegal Immigrants Should Be Deported

Nearly one-third of registered voters say that all illegal immigrants in the United States should be deported, a weekly survey from the Economist/YouGov found.

The survey first asked respondents, “Which comes closest to your view about illegal immigrants who are living in the U.S.?” Overall, 43 percent of registered voters expressed the belief that they should be allowed to stay in the U.S. and eventually apply for citizenship, followed by 40 percent who said they should be deported. Only seven percent said they should be allowed to stay in the U.S. but not become citizens.

However, the survey then asked respondents to identify which illegal immigrants they believe should be deported, and nearly one-third of registered voters – 31 percent – said, “all illegal immigrants should be deported.”

A majority of registered voters, 60 percent, agree that illegal aliens convicted of serious crimes should be removed from the country, followed by 19 percent who believe illegal immigrants convicted of minor crimes should be deported as well. Only three percent believe that illegal aliens who have lived in the U.S. for many years without committing any crime should be deported. Similarly, just three percent believe illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children should be deported as well.

There are sharp differences in opinion on party lines, as most Republicans, 57 percent, believe “all” legal immigrants should be deported. Only 24 percent of independents and seven percent of Democrats agree. Most Democrats and independents — 81 percent and 63 percent, respectively — believe illegal immigrants convicted of serious crimes should be deported.

The survey was taken April 10-13, 2026, among 1,573 registered voters. It has a +/- 3.1 percent margin of error.

It comes as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues to highlight arrests of dangerous criminal illegal aliens across the country. Their crimes include crimes against children.

Jose Rivera-Orta — a criminal illegal alien from Cuba — was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and convicted for “lewd/lascivious battery on a child in Miami-Dade County, Florida.”

Another arrested criminal, Jacobo Pablo-Ramirez, hailing from Guatemala, was “convicted for attempted statutory rape of a child in Duplin County, North Carolina.”

Other crimes include voluntary manslaughter, robbery, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

“Yesterday, ICE arrested some truly sick individuals, including murderers, pedophiles, sexual predators and violent thugs,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement accompanying the April 14 press release, highlighting the fact that nearly 70 percent of ICE arrests are of illegal aliens “charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S.”