More than half of likely U.S. voters approve of the immigration enforcement raids that have been launched since President Donald Trump was sworn in, according to a survey.
The survey, conducted by Rasmussen Reports of 1,229 likely voters between Jan. 26-28, shows that 57% approve of the raids to catch and deport immigrants in the country illegally, including 38% who say they strongly approve; 39% who say they disapprove of the raids; and 24% who say they strongly disapprove.
Trump administration officials have also ordered sanctuary cities protecting immigrants to be investigated, and 48% of the voters said that officials in those locations should face prosecution if they interfere with the enforcement of federal immigration law; 38% said they disagreed; and 14% were not sure.
Other findings:
- 86% of those who strongly approve of the raids said they favor prosecuting sanctuary city officials if they interfere with federal enforcement measures.
- 81% of Republicans, 36% of Democrats, and 45% of voters not affiliated with either major party at least somewhat approve of the raids.
- 47% of Democrats said they strongly disapprove of the raids, along with 6% of Republicans and 16% of unaffiliated voters.
- 71% of Republicans, 28% of Democrats, and 46% of unaffiliated voters said they think sanctuary city officials who interfere with enforcement measures should be prosecuted.
- 56% of Democrats, 20% of Republicans, and 36% of unaffiliated voters said the officials should not be prosecuted.
Other majorities of voters, based on sex or race, said they favor the raids and prosecuting sanctuary city officials:
- 62% of men and 52% of women said they approve of the raids, and more men (53%) than women (44%) said they favor prosecuting the officials who do not cooperate with immigration enforcement.
- 58% of white voters, 54% of Black voters, 57% of Hispanic voters, and 50% of other minorities approve of the raids, but more Black voters were likely to oppose federal prosecution of sanctuary city officials.
The survey further found a large difference between voters for Trump and former Vice President Kamala Harris' voters when it came to approving the raids, with 87% of Trump's voters approving and 70% of Harris' voters disapproving.
The margin of sampling error for the survey was 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.