Few Americans want to either deport all illegal immigrants or to let them all stay

Americans define being truly American more by a person's respect for political institutions and laws than by their birthplace or religion, the August 7 - 10 Economist / YouGov Poll finds.

The survey asked Americans how important each of five things is for being truly American, and many put civic obligations ahead of birthplace or religion: 67% say it is very important to respect American political institutions and laws and 63% say the same about having American citizenship. 54% say it is very important to speak English; fewer say it is very important to have been born in the U.S. (31%) or to be a Christian (21%).

Many Democrats and Republicans disagree about what's important to being truly American. Republicans are more than twice as likely as Democrats to say speaking English is very important (81% vs. 31%) and three times as likely to say the same about having been born in the U.S. (51% vs. 18%) or being a Christian (41% vs. 12%). Republicans are 29 percentage points more likely than Democrats to say respecting American political institutions and laws is very important (88% vs. 59%). Democrats are less likely than Republicans to say each of the five things is very important to being truly American.

More Americans say society is stronger when its culture evolves over time than say it is stronger staying true to its traditions (49% vs. 31%). Democrats favor society evolving over tradition 75% to 12%; Republicans favor tradition over society evolving 60% to 22%.

Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say people of different racial and ethnic groups should assimilate into the broader culture. 51% of Americans say society is better off when different racial and ethnic groups adapt and blend into the larger society, and 27% say it is better when they maintain their distinct customs and traditions. More in each party choose blending in than maintaining distinct traditions: Democrats 46% to 33%, Independents 46% to 27%, and Republicans 62% to 21%.

On immigration policy, few Americans say all immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally should be deported (24%) or that they should all be allowed to stay (6%). Most Americans favor limiting deportation in some way rather than deporting everyone or no one: 41% say only those who have committed serious crimes should be deported, and 29% say most should be deported, with exceptions for those married to Americans or who have lived here for many years with no criminal record.

Majorities support each of the four paths to citizenship the survey asked about when asked to select all that apply: 63% of Americans say immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children should be provided with a way to become U.S. citizens, 62% say the same about undocumented immigrants who are married to U.S. citizens, 58% say this about undocumented immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for more than ten years, and 55% say this about undocumented immigrants who have children who are U.S. citizens. 20% choose none of the four.

The survey also asked Americans to tell us in their own words what the U.S. government’s policy on immigration should be, including who we should allow to enter and stay in the country. With the help of an AI tool to analyze responses, we find that:

• Almost nobody describes open borders. About 3% of Americans would admit everyone with no condition attached. Americans overwhelmingly answer with some conditions, and the disagreement is about which condition to apply rather than whether to have one
• Democrats most often name a criminal record as the dividing line, saying anyone without a serious conviction should be able to come and to stay. They mention asylum, refugees, and family separation more often than Republicans do, and many say the existing legal path is too slow and too expensive to be realistic
• Republicans most often mention the legal process itself, treating entry without documents as an offense rather than as a procedural problem. They more often than Democrats attach conditions to remaining: holding a job, supporting yourself, paying taxes, and not drawing on government benefits
• Assimilation is almost exclusively mentioned by Republicans. Learning English and adopting American customs and laws appear regularly in Republican answers and almost never in Democratic ones — the same divide the survey finds when it asks directly what it takes to be truly American

Among Republicans, MAGA identification matters more for immigration policy than for national identity. Republicans who say they are MAGA supporters are more likely than non-MAGA Republicans to say all immigrants here illegally should be deported immediately (53% vs. 35%), and less likely to say only those who have committed serious crimes should be deported (8% vs. 26%). On what makes someone truly American the two groups differ less: 43% of MAGA Republicans and 37% of other Republicans say being a Christian is very important.

40% of Americans strongly or somewhat approve of Donald Trump's handling of immigration and 53% disapprove, for a net approval of -13. That is down from +11 at the start of his second term, when 51% approved and 40% disapproved.

Image: Getty (Douglas Rissing)

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