CBS News’ Margaret Brennan appeared to be taken aback by the results of a poll show how a majority of Americans feel about the idea of a mass deportation plan for illegal immigrants.
During a segment of “Face The Nation” Sunday, CBS News’ Anthony Salvanto discussed the results of a poll from the network that asked respondents a series of question about the issue of immigration.
It found that 70% of registered voters said they approve of President Joe Biden’s latest executive action aimed at curbing illegal border crossings. But, it also found roughly 50% of respondents said they believe his policies would actually increase illegal border crossings, while just 5% said the same of the policies of former President Donald Trump.
Salvanto then noted the poll found 62% of respondents expressed support for a “new national program to deport all undocumented immigrants,” while 38% say they oppose it.
“That finds majority favor… it’s strongest among folks who are MAGA, it’s strongest among Trump supporters, but also from some Democrats as well,” he continued. “And I think that that speaks to the general idea not just that folks see the border as a crisis, but also where we are in the campaign where a lot of very dramatic, new proposals out there are finding favor.”
Brennan responded, “So unpack that a bit… Homeland Security says that President Biden has already deported or repatriated more people in the past year than any year since 2010.”
“And then, depending on the details of what’s talked about on the campaign trail, some of what Mr. Trump talks about could be illegal. It doesn’t seem practical, in some sense, to round up children. And then we know that the courts have questioned whether local authorities would have the ability to do it. And federal authorities don’t have the resources,” she continued.
Brennan asked, “So what exactly do people think they’re supporting?”
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Salvanto answered, “When you measure public sentiment on this — or really, just about any policy — you’re getting a sense of direction. You’re getting broad brush strokes. But those kinds of details, that’s often up to the legislatures and the courts.”
“We are in a different era in which a lot of folks say the system as a whole is not working. And all of these, if you connect the dots through them, are part of that reaction against it, which explains some of that general sentiment for some of these policies,” he added.
