Seventy-seven percent of registered voters support deporting illegal immigrants who commit crimes, a Harvard-Harris poll shows, clear public backing for President Trump’s enforcement drive.
The Harvard CAPS and Harris survey of 2,200 registered voters, conducted September 26-28, found overwhelming support for removing illegal immigrants who break the law. That result lands as the administration continues mass removals and tighter border controls after the 2024 election.
Voters are not asking for open borders or blanket amnesty. They want people who entered illegally and then committed crimes sent home. The poll puts that preference in plain numbers.
Support for Trump’s immigration actions overall stood at 48 percent, the highest of the 11 issue areas the survey covered. That figure tracks with the mandate many voters delivered last year: stop the flow, enforce the law, and reverse the chaos of the prior administration.
The same poll showed narrower but real majorities for tougher follow-through tools. Fifty-one percent supported allowing federal immigration authorities to access information on low-income families, including personal data from Medicaid and SNAP recipients and tax statements filed by immigrants.
Fifty percent backed giving immigration officers the power to deny green cards to people using public benefits. Those measures aim at a basic principle: illegal presence and public dependency should not lead to permanent legal status.
Americans have watched cities strain under sudden migrant surges, shelter costs, and crime cases involving people who should never have been released into the interior. The poll numbers reflect that lived experience more than elite talking points.
A separate mid-September Politico online survey of 2,064 random adults painted a more fractured picture and drew a sharp response from the administration. That poll was not limited to likely or registered voters.
In the Politico findings as reported, roughly 14 percent of “MAGA” supporters called Trump’s deportation campaign “too aggressive,” compared with about 31 percent of non-Trump supporters. Only 55 percent backed deporting people convicted of serious violent or sexual offenses, a strikingly low figure given the crimes involved. About 33 percent of Trump’s own supporters said legalized migration is “too difficult.”
White House spokesperson Lauren Bis rejected the framing.
Bis said:
"POLITICO is “skewing data to paint a false narrative.”"
She added:
"The American people sent President Trump back to the White House to stop the invasion of our country and deport the millions of illegal aliens Biden and Democrats allowed into the country. The president is delivering on his promises."
An anonymous person close to the White House, granted anonymity to discuss Republican views on the issue, pointed to language and priorities rather than retreat.
The source said:
"A lot of it has to do with how you talk about it. They don’t want amnesty for people who have broken the law. They want everybody to do it the right way."
And:
"They understand that some people might be law-abiding, hard working."
That distinction matters. Lawful immigration and illegal entry mixed with criminal conduct are not the same thing. Voters keep drawing the line even when some coverage blurs it.
Reporting around the poll noted the removal of roughly 2 million migrants under Trump’s approach, alongside efforts to block illegal crossings. Prior Harvard-Harris surveys had tested broader deportation questions, including support for sending all illegal migrants home; one related March 2026 reading put that sentiment near 57 percent in linked coverage.
Only 12 percent of GOP voters in the Politico snapshot named migration as their most important personal issue, ranking it behind inflation and the repair of American merit culture. That ranking does not erase the enforcement consensus. It shows voters can hold more than one priority at once while still demanding that criminal illegal immigrants leave.
A USAFacts.org report dated September 25 offered a separate economic data point often tied to the same voter mood: from August 2025 to August 2026, wages grew 0.29 percentage points faster than inflation. Nominal wages rose 3.7 percent while inflation stood at 3.4 percent, a sign of improved purchasing power after years of price pressure.
Border disorder and loose interior enforcement were never free. Taxpayers absorbed shelter, health, and criminal-justice costs while wage earners felt the squeeze. Polling that pairs strong deportation support with benefit and data-sharing majorities fits that reality.
The Harvard-Harris question was specific: “Deporting immigrants who are here illegally and have committed crimes.” It did not ask voters to rubber-stamp every operational detail. It asked whether people who broke immigration law and then committed further crimes should be removed. Nearly four in five registered voters said yes.
That is not fringe opinion. It is mainstream common sense. Criminal aliens who remain free after illegal entry impose direct risks on lawful residents and legal immigrants who followed the rules. Cities and states that resisted cooperation with federal officers made the problem worse; the public response in this poll is the opposite of that resistance.
Trump campaigned on ending the Biden-era surge and restoring interior enforcement. The Harvard-Harris numbers show the core of that agenda still commands majority support where it counts most, removing people who are both illegally present and criminally active.
Media outlets that highlight soft spots in secondary polls while downplaying registered-voter majorities for criminal deportations are choosing a narrative. The White House called that approach skewed. The 77 percent figure is harder to spin away.
Voters hired an administration to enforce the border and the law. A clear majority still wants illegal immigrants who commit crimes out of the country, and the data says the public has not changed its mind.
