Summary
An Axios-Ipsos poll shows that while two-thirds of Americans, including 93% of Republicans, support mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, support declines when specific methods are proposed.
Only 38% favor using active-duty military, 28% back diverting military funds, and just one-third support separating families or deporting those who arrived as children.
Trump’s plans for mass deportations face logistical, economic, and public opinion challenges.
Experts note abstract support for deportations fades when Americans confront the complexities of implementation.
Very few people have a grasp on immigration law in the first place. I’d imagine most Americans don’t understand that if someone was brought into the country without a visa as a child, raised here, and got married to a citizen and had kids they must be deported and are banned from applying for a green card for 10 years (there are appeals to this, but that’s how the process stands). Breaking up families like that is nonsensical from a public policy standpoint, so nobody really intuits that’s how the system works.