At rallies across the country, former President Donald Trump has pledged to enact mass deportations of illegal immigrants, something he vowed to do during his first term but never fully realized.
The latest Fox News Poll, released Thursday, finds two-thirds of voters favor such a policy – exactly where it was last December and up 15 points since the question was first asked in 2015. Nearly one-third opposes mass deportations.
Since 2015, support for deporting those living in the U.S. illegally is up across the board, but most notably among nonwhite voters (+24 points favor), Republicans (+21 points), rural voters (+20), urban voters (+19), and men (+16). Democrats are also more likely to favor this now but by a smaller 8-point margin.
At the same time, support for allowing illegal immigrants with jobs to stay in the country and apply for legal status is decreasing. Fifty-eight percent of voters favor allowing those with jobs to stay, down 4 points from last year and 10 points since 2015.
While support for allowing those with jobs to stay and apply for legal status is down among most demographics, Republicans are the driving force behind the dip – down 28 points from a decade ago. Democrats are the opposite; they are more likely to favor allowing them to stay by 4 points.
Fox News Poll: Trump ahead of Harris by 2 points nationally
Immigration has been one of three top issues this election cycle, along with abortion and the economy (the top issue). The new Fox News survey is no different: 40% put the economy at number one, followed by 17% for immigration, and 15% for abortion. No other issue reaches double digits.
When asked to name the single most important issue or factor motivating them to vote, Trump supporters cite immigration (17%) and the economy (18%) as top motivators. For Vice President Harris supporters, it’s dislike of Trump (17%), followed by abortion and protecting democracy (14% each) motivating them vote. Just 1% of Harris supporters cite immigration.
By a 15-point margin, Trump is seen as better to handle immigration, up from a 10-point advantage in September. This advantage isn’t new, as the former president has been consistently beating Harris and Biden on this issue.
Fox News Poll: Harris, Trump in close race in North Carolina
Still, one reason the presidential race is so close is because roughly 1 in 10 voters who say immigration is their top issue (9%) back Harris, as do 1 in 10 who think Trump can better handle the immigration issue (13%).
Overall, Trump has a 2-point advantage over Harris in the presidential matchup (50% to 48%) among both registered voters and likely voters, well within the margin of error.
From the southern border to international wars…
— Voters are increasingly likely to think the U.S. should be doing less when it comes to Ukraine and its war with Russia. Forty percent think the U.S. should be doing less, up 5 points since May and up 14 points from 2022. Roughly a quarter think we should be doing more while one third say the help is about the right amount.
— Views on U.S. support to Israel are split: 32% say too supportive, 29% not supportive enough, and 35% say it’s about right. This is about where it was in May, the last time the question was asked, but since November 2023 the number saying not supportive enough has increased (21% to 29%) while those saying about right has decreased (45% to 35%).
— By 13 points, voters view Trump as better able to handle the war in the Middle East (55% Trump vs. 42% Harris). That’s up from a 7-point lead in September.
Conducted October 11-14, 2024 under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,110 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (129) and cellphones (719) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (262). Results based on both the full registered voter sample and the subsample of 870 likely voters have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling error associated with results among subgroup is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education, and area variables to ensure the demographics of respondents are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing weight targets include the American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis, and voter file data. Likely voters are based on a probabilistic statistical model that relies on past vote history, interest in the current election, age, education, race, ethnicity, church attendance, and marital status.