With President Donald Trump making the deportation of illegal immigrants a priority on Day One, Democrats have been relentless in trying to undercut his policies on deportations by way of the courts as well as the court of public opinion.
In recent weeks, in particular, the left, their activist groups, and the mainstream media have all hammered Trump over the deportation of illegal immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an alleged MS-13 member who was deported to his home country of El Salvador back in March.
Because Abrego Garcia has been incorrectly described as a “wrongly deported Maryland man,” Democrats have made him their poster child for opposition to Trump’s deportation policies. This is despite the fact that, in addition to Abrego Garcia’s alleged gang ties, he’s also an accused domestic abuser and a suspected human smuggler.
Though Democrats have, of course, found willing accomplices on this issue from the press, the good news is that their demagoguery campaign doesn’t appear to be working with voters according to a new CBS News poll:
🚨 JUST ANNOUNCED: CBS poll finds by 12-point margin, Americans approve of Trump’s program to seek out and deport illegals, 56%-44%, up from +8 earlier this month
Independents support this by 8 points, 54%-46%.
Males by 26 points, 63%-37%. pic.twitter.com/GBS4wvdhd7
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 27, 2025
From the CBS News report:
Most Americans think Mr. Trump’s policies have reduced border crossings. Most also continue to approve of his deportation program in general.
Meanwhile, three-quarters say it isn’t acceptable if some legal residents are detained by mistake as part of that program. A large eight in 10 say it wouldn’t be acceptable if some legal residents are deported to foreign countries.
This is good to know, considering Kilmar Abrego Garcia was not a “legal resident” of this country.
This polling dovetails with what we’ve seen in some other recent post-Abrego Garcia repatriation polling numbers on the subject of Trump’s deportation priorities, showing a clear majority supports the president on this issue, like the ones referenced below by CNN numbers cruncher Harry Enten two weeks ago:
Immigration is “where Trump wants the focus… Pretty, pretty please with a cherry on top.”
-His net approval on immigration is positive
-A plurality say under Trump immigration policy is on the right track (unlike under Biden)
-Most want all undocumented immigrants deported pic.twitter.com/5RbgJPjW7D
— (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) April 17, 2025
More broadly, on the issue of illegal immigration, while some poll numbers vary, Trump and his cabinet secretaries who have been tasked with stemming the tide are showing no signs of slowing down. They are even taking victory laps as new data on their efforts rolls in:
President Trump tasked the Department of Defense with securing our border.
It is safe to say we are executing his orders. https://t.co/afYEe0L1Qo
— Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) April 27, 2025
