IAP Poll finds strong support for mass deportations

The Immigration Accountability Project (IAP) released a new poll this week that confirmed what we knew: an overwhelming majority of Americans supports mass deportations.

The poll was conducted by McLaughlin & Associates and asked 2,000 likely voters for their views on immigration enforcement. It confirmed that:

• 66.1 percent of Americans support deporting illegal border crossers;
• 66.1 percent of Americans support deporting the 1.6 million illegal aliens who have final orders of removal from an immigration judge; and
• 64.7 percent of Americans support deporting visa overstays.

Find links for the poll results, a slide presentation, and summaries at IAProject.org.

Politico featured the poll on its website on Thursday and included a link to it in its widely read morning newsletter. The timing could not have been more perfect, as news broke just two days earlier that White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair had urged House Republicans to stop talking about mass deportations.

On the campaign trail in 2024, President Trump promised to "conduct the largest mass deportation operation" in U.S. history. The Trump Administration deported approximately 300,000 illegal aliens from the interior of the country in 2025. That number must increase dramatically if the president is to keep his campaign promise.

Our poll asked Trump voters if the president's mass deportation promise influenced their vote in 2024 and whether it would impact their willingness to vote for Republican congressional candidates in 2026. A resounding 82 percent of Trump voters said that his mass deportation promise made them more likely to vote for him. 

Furthermore, 86.7 percent of Trump voters want his administration to exceed the Eisenhower Administration's efforts, which resulted in approximately one-third of illegal aliens leaving the country. Additionally, 74 percent of Trump voters said they would be more likely to vote for a Republican candidate for Congress if the Trump Administration deports at least one million illegal aliens in 2026.

To meet and eventually exceed one million deportations a year, the federal government will need to expand its enforcement efforts to include regular worksite enforcement and utilize a "whole-of-government" approach. We also tested those approaches and found strong support for both:

• 71.6 percent support regular audits and raids on businesses that knowingly hire illegal workers;
• 82.3 percent support the Social Security Administration (SSA) notifying employers when employee Social Security numbers do not match federal records;
• 77.9 percent support requiring the use of E-Verify for all new hires;
• 73.2 percent support all federal agencies—including the Department of Homeland Security, the Internal Revenue Service, and SSA—cooperating on immigration enforcement; and
• 68.3 percent believe that state governments should share information on illegal aliens with federal authorities.

The Immigration Accountability Project is a founding member of the Mass Deportation Coalition, which is advocating for at least one million formal deportations a year. The coalition is working on a playbook, which it plans to release by April 1, that will provide a roadmap for the Trump Administration on how it can achieve its goal. You can follow the coalition on X at @Phase2Deport or visit its website at MassDeportation.com (and be sure to follow us at @iaproject!).

Sen. Wicker, Rep. Perry climb in Congressional Immigration Rankings

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) moved up eight spots in the Congressional Immigration Rankings after cosponsoring S.1151, the Accountability Through Electronic Verification Act, which would require employers to use E-Verify. The updated rankings can be found at IAPAction.com. Sen. Wicker now ranks No. 25 in the Senate.

With the House in recess, there wasn’t much movement this week, but Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) moved up four spots after cosponsoring H.R. 116, the Stopping Border Surges Act. The bill would close many of the loopholes that were exploited during the Biden Border Crisis.

Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) fell the most, dropping seven spots in the House rankings. Rep. Frost cosponsored H.R. 7297, the ICE and CBP Constitutional Accountability Act. This bill establishes a civil cause of action that waives sovereign immunity, allowing any individual within U.S. jurisdiction—including illegal aliens—to sue ICE and CBP agents for monetary and punitive damages over alleged constitutional violations.

View the full Immigration Rankings at IAPAction.com.

Immigration Articles

Fox News: The next head of Homeland Security needs to do a lot more to live up to Trump’s promises

Our friend Lora Ries from the Heritage Foundation breaks down the opportunity the nominee for DHS Secretary, Sen. Markwayne Mullin, has to expand deportations.

Washington Times: New polling shows most Americans support SAVE Act, call for ‘real debate’

Another poll from McLaughlin and Associates dropped this week found continued support of the SAVE America Act, as well as 59% support for senators to “fight to bring the bill to the Senate floor for real debate and a real effort to pass it.” The poll was sponsored by our friends at Tea Party Patriots Action.

Fox News: Spanberger refuses to honor ICE detainer in murder case, escalating showdown with Trump DHS

New Democratic Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger is facing criticism from the Trump Administration and GOP leaders for refusing to transfer an illegal alien charged with murder into ICE custody without a judicial warrant.

Next Week

The House and Senate return for a big week next week. Senator Thune has announced floor action on the SAVE America Act, though it remains unclear what process he intends to employ. On the House side, we expect votes on the previously delayed Deporting Fraudsters Act and the BOWOW Act, both of which add new inadmissibility and deportability provisions to immigration law and have IAP’s support.