Busra Nur Cakmak
22 October 2025•Update: 22 October 2025
ANKARA
A new poll shows that 40% of Americans believe undocumented immigrants should be deported even if they have committed no crimes beyond entering the country illegally.
Another 38% of respondents said undocumented immigrants should be allowed to remain in the United States only if they meet certain requirements, while 14% said they should be allowed to stay without conditions, and 8% were unsure, according to a new survey by The Economist and YouGov, which was reported by Newsmax on Tuesday.
The results reflect strong backing for stricter enforcement policies as President Donald Trump continues implementing his border agenda.
Among Trump supporters, 67% favor deportation regardless of criminal history, compared with just 14% of those aligned with former Vice President Kamala Harris. Independents were split, with 41% favoring deportation and 39% preferring conditional stays.
The poll also found broad economic pessimism: only 15% of Americans said they are financially better off than a year ago. On foreign policy, just one-third support increasing aid to Ukraine, while most favor keeping or reducing it.
More than 480,000 undocumented immigrants have been arrested nationwide since Trump took office in January, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday.
Last month, the department announced that 2 million illegal immigrants have left the US since Jan. 20. According to a statement, the total includes around 1.6 million voluntary self-deportations and over 400,000 formal deportations in less than 250 days.
Separately, Trump on Monday praised what he described as "record-breaking" law enforcement activity under his administration, citing new statistics from the FBI on violent crime, drug seizures, and child protection operations.
"The FBI, under my Administration, is doing an incredible job. Since January 20th, more than 28,000 Violent Criminals have been arrested (record breaking!), with over 6,000 illegal weapons seized, more than 1,700 child predators and 300 human traffickers taken off the streets," he said on his Truth Social platform.
He added that 5,000 children had been rescued and that agents had seized 1,900 kilograms of fentanyl, which he said was “enough to kill 125 million people.”
