Most Agree with Trump that Illegal Immigration Increases Crime
Donald Trump has taken a lot of criticism from Democrats and other Republican presidential hopefuls over his candid remarks about the criminality of many illegal immigrants, but most voters think Trump is right.
Fifty-three percent (53%) of Likely U.S. Voters believe illegal immigration increases the level of serious crime in America, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Just five percent (5%) think illegal immigration decreases the level of serious crime in this country, while 33% say it has no impact on crime. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
While Trump has been chided by some Republican politicians nervous about the impact of his comments on the Hispanic vote, 76% of Likely Republican Voters agree with him that illegal immigration increases the level of serious crime. That view is shared by 52% of voters not affiliated with either major political party but only 33% of Democrats. Half (49%) of voters in President Obama’s party believe illegal immigration has no impact on serious crime in America.
Voters remain overwhelmingly positive about immigrants who come to the United States to work hard, support their families and pursue the American Dream. The problem is that just 54% now believe that is what most immigrants have in mind.
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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on July 2 and 5, 2015 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Following the recent shooting of a woman in San Francisco by a Mexican illegal immigrant who had been deported several times previously, Republicans and Democrats have criticized San Francisco’s “sanctuary city” policy that protects illegal immigrants from federal enforcement. Voters told Rasmussen Reports that the best ways to stop illegal immigration are to impose strong penalties on those who hire illegal immigrants and to end federal funding for sanctuary cities that are violating immigration law.
Most voters continue to believe the policies and practices of the federal government encourage, rather than discourage, illegal immigration.
Over half of men, women and voters of all ages agree that illegal immigration increases serious crime in America.
Fifty-seven percent (57%) of whites believe that to be true, compared to 46% of blacks and 42% of other minority voters.
Most voters who approve of Obama’s job performance think illegal immigration has no impact on crime in this country. Voters who disapprove of the job he is doing feel even more strongly that illegal immigration increases the level of serious crime.
Sixty-three percent (63%) of all voters think gaining control of the border is more important than legalizing the status of undocumented workers already living in the United States. That’s the highest level of support for putting border control first in three-and-a-half years.
Trump entered the Republican presidential race in mid-June, and Republican voters at that time rated him near the bottom of the crowded field.
Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.
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The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on July 2 and 5, 2015 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
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