Former President Donald Trump has vowed to take extreme actions to secure the U.S.-Mexico border if he wins November’s presidential election, and that is winning him plaudits from what many might view as an unexpected demographic: Latinos.
The percentage of Latinos who support building a border wall and deporting undocumented immigrants has increased by at least 10 points since 2021, according to the latest Axios-Ipsos Latino Poll.
Trump’s calls for increased border security and anti-immigrant rhetoric are impacting even those with immigration connections. The results shed light on recent Republican gains among Latinos and highlight the frustration that has made illegal immigration a top issue during election season.
If Trump wins the presidency again, he plans to increase border security and organize mass deportations, which he claims could involve up to a million people, and that doesn’t seem to be problematic for a wide swath of Hispanic Americans.
Axios reported on the findings:
42% of Latino adults surveyed said they support building a wall or fence along the entire U.S.–Mexico border. That’s a 12-point jump from December 2021.
38% support sending all undocumented immigrants in the U.S. back to their country of origin — up from 28% in 2021.
In addition, 64% of Latinos said they support giving the president the authority to shut U.S. borders if there are too many immigrants trying to enter the country. It was the first time the survey asked this question.
Support for building a wall was strongest among Cuban Americans (58%), who generally are more conservative than many other Latinos and have benefited from decades of Cold War-era “special treatment” on immigration.
Support for the border wall is lowest among Mexican immigrants and Mexican Americans (37%). Only 43% of Central Americans support the wall.
According to the survey, after inflation and crime, Latinos’ top concern in this election year is uncontrolled illegal immigration.
That said, and despite rising support for deportation, 65 percent of Latinos prefer a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, the survey found.
