Americans hold complex views on what should happen to undocumented immigrants. As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to ramp up mass deportations, about three-quarters of U.S. adults say they are at least somewhat concerned about the number of immigrants entering the country illegally, and a majority support enforcing mass deportation.
When asked in the same poll, Americans do support deportations but also more support legalization of immigrants.
https://www.vox.com/policy/368889/immigration-border-polls-election-2024-trump-harris
https://news.gallup.com/poll/647123/sharply-americans-curb-immigration.aspx
Republicans have primed Americans into thinking illegal immigrants are criminals bringing in crime and drugs into the country. Which is completely fabricated and untrue. However, since Biden, Democrats have failed to counter message and instead adopted this right wing framing on immigration.
That’s the entire reason we see this contradiction. A genuine counter message would be popular, as it was with the Dreamers messaging under Obama. A genuine counter message is essential, considering that Trump is going to start mass deportations day one, meaning concentration camps for millions of Americans.
And once camps are set up, it never stops with only one group of “undesirables”. I fully expect transgender people to be next, then activists rebranded as terrorists, then political opponents.