Poll: More Than Half Of US Citizens Want Illegal Immigrants Deported

A Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday, February 20 indicated that a majority of US citizens want illegal immigrants deported.

Approximately 53 percent of those surveyed said they were in favor of deportation, Reuters stated, with 30 percent saying they favored doing so “with some exceptions” while 23 percent preferred the action for all immigrants.

Thirty-six percent were opposed, with 31 percent stating they wanted “most” and 5 percent preferring “all” immigrants to stay in-country and be afforded a path to citizenship as President Obama has proposed.

The results highlight the tough fight ahead on immigration reform between a Democratic party that captured an “overwhelming” majority of the Hispanic vote in the 2012 general election and a Republican party that feels compelled to reach out to them, according to Ipsos pollster Julia Clark.

And for Republicans like Florida Senator Marco Rubio, the efforts of President Obama are getting in the way. In a Sunday, February 17, press release, Rubio said the Obama plan would “further undermine the American people’s confidence in Washington’s ability to enforce our immigration laws and reform our broken immigration system.”

However, that doesn’t mean naturalization is dead in the water. In fact, naturalization supporters received a boost of sorts on Wednesday from Arizona Senator John McCain, a Republican, according to CBS.

“There are 11 million people living here illegally. … We are not going to get enough buses to deport them,” McCain told an angry forum, adding that “any path to citizenship must require immigrants to learn English, cover back taxes, and pay fines for breaking immigration laws.”

Do you believe illegal immigrants should face deportation or be provided a pathway to citizenship?

[Image via Juan Camilo Bernal / Shutterstock.com]