President Donald Trump’s publicized raids on immigrants illegally residing in the United States reportedly failed to materialize over the weekend, but new polling shows that a slim majority of voters — including nearly half of independents — were in favor of the proposed action, as the electorate increasingly prioritizes immigration ahead of 2020.
Fifty-one percent of registered voters in a new Morning Consult/Politico survey said they supported Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids aimed at arresting and deporting immigrants who are living in the country illegally with outstanding deportation court orders. Nearly two-thirds of Republicans in the July 12-14 survey said they “strongly” supported the planned action, signaling that Trump’s messaging on the issue is directly in line with his base.
The president has been planning these raids for some time, delaying them in June at the request of Democratic leaders. Reports began to surface on Thursday that raids would begin on Sunday, and while the president said Monday that the raids were “very successful,” several media reports pushed back on that assertion.
