A majority of Republicans believe immigrant children who were allowed to stay in the U.S. through an Obama-era deferred action program should continue to reside here, according to a new poll from Morning Consult and Politico.
A full 67 percent of voters who supported President Donald Trump in the 2016 election believe beneficiaries of former President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) should be allowed to remain in the U.S.
Only about a quarter of Republicans believe DACA recipients, sometimes called “Dreamers,” should be deported.
“Given the deeply polarizing nature of immigration issues, the broad support for allowing Dreamers to stay in the United States is notable,” Kyle Dropp, Morning Consult co-founder and Chief Research Officer told Politico. “Just 24 percent of Republicans, 12 percent of independents and 8 percent of Democrats say that Dreamers should be deported.”
Trump voters were mixed on whether the young people, most of whom are now in their 20s, should be granted full citizenship. When asked whether DACA children should be granted a path to citizenship if they meet certain requirements, “become legal residents, but NOT citizens,” or be deported, 44 percent said they should become citizens, 23 percent supported legal residency without citizenship, and 26 percent favored deportation.
A plurality of Republicans also supported more broad amnesty for illegal immigrants. About 55 percent of Republican voters favored either a path to citizenship or legal residency for undocumented aliens, while 39 percent favored deportation. Among Democrats, 85 percent of Hillary Clinton supporters favored citizenship or legal status, and just 9 percent advocated for deportation.
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