WASHINGTON (OSV News) — U.S. adults hold mixed views of Trump administration policies, including on deportations, a new Marquette Law School Poll found.
The Jesuit school’s April 2 poll found that just 42 percent of U.S. adults said the country is going in the right direction. However, that is more than double what the same poll found in October, when just 20 percent answered that question affirmatively.
Asked about Trump’s deporting immigrants in the United States illegally, 68 percent said they are in favor and 32 percent said they are opposed. However, when asked about deporting immigrants in the U.S. illegally without a criminal record and who have jobs in their communities, just 41 percent said they supported that while 59 percent were opposed.
J. Kevin Appleby, senior fellow for policy at the Center for Migration Studies of New York and the former director of migration policy for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, told OSV News, “part of the challenge here is that Trump and his allies have been labeling all immigrants as threats to local communities in order to generate support for his deportation plans.”
“In fact, the large majority of immigrants work, have families, are law-abiding and are contributing to their communities,” he said. “These are the individuals and families who should be given a chance to remain, but who will be swept up in a mass enforcement campaign.”
“I suspect that as more stories come out about noncriminal immigrants, including legal immigrants, immigrant workers, students, and families, being deported without due process that support for mass deportations will dwindle and backfire on the administration,” he added.
Respondents offered a mixed review of Trump’s other policies. Most said they think tariffs hurt the U.S. economy and that Trump’s policies will increase inflation. Trump’s call to make Canada the 51s state was favored by only 25 percent and opposed by 75 percent.
But 73 percent of adults said they favor Trump’s executive order making English the official language of the United States.
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