Poll: 62 Percent Of Voters Want More Deportations

A majority of likely voters say the government is “not aggressive enough in deporting those who are in this country illegally,” according to a new Rasmussen Reports poll.

As the Obama administration pushes executive amnesty — to shield up to five million illegal immigrants from deportation, making them eligible for work permits and potential tax benefits — 62 percent of likely voters say the government is not aggressive enough in deporting illegal immigrants.

That represents a ten percentage point jump over last year, when 52 percent said the government was not aggressive enough. Meanwhile, just 16 percent say the government is too aggressive and 15 percent say it is just right.

Further, 51 percent of likely voters say illegal immigrants with American-born children should not be allowed to stay — an aspect of Obama’s executive amnesty. Just 32 percent say such illegal immigrants should be allowed to remain in the U.S.

Most likely voters — 54 percent — also say that children born to illegal immigrant parents should not be granted automatic U.S. citizenship. Thirty-eight percent say they do support automatic citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants.

Likely voters are also not supportive of public services for illegal immigrants, with 83 percent saying people should have to prove they are in the U.S. legally in order to obtain government services.

Finally, while likely voters would like to see more aggressive attempts at removing those in the U.S. illegally, 54 percent say they are concerned about such efforts impeding the civil rights of U.S. citizens.

Obama’s executive amnesty was halted by a federal court in February, to allow a legal challenge by 26 states to work its way through the courts. The administration is currently appealing.

Rasmussen Reports surveyed 1,000 likely voters on April 1-2, 2015. The poll and has a sampling error of +/- 3 percentage points.