Republican Voters: Prioritize Violent Criminals, Preserve Family Unity
WASHINGTON D.C. — Significant majorities of groups that voted for President-elect Donald Trump want his administration to focus immigration enforcement on threats to public safety rather than cast an unlimited net.
An even higher percentage of Republicans, ideological conservatives, and white evangelical Protestants want family unity and other core American values to “remain key priorities” as border security and immigration enforcement ramp up, according to a new survey from The Bullfinch Group and National Immigration Forum.
Among Republicans, 75% agreed with the statement, “In accordance with American values, family unity, respect for human dignity, and protection for the persecuted must remain key priorities as the government increases border security and immigration enforcement.” Only 18% disagreed, with 7% unsure.
In addition, 60% of Republicans — and 67% of voters overall — said immigration enforcement should prioritize violent criminals and those with final orders of removal rather than “all individuals without legal status.”
“Even voting blocs that support tougher enforcement want the Trump administration to preserve American values and set enforcement priorities,” said Jennie Murray, President and CEO of the National Immigration Forum. “We urge the new administration to work with Congress on immigration solutions that boost our security, honor human dignity and preserve family unity.”
Full crosstabs are available for the values and enforcement priorities questions.
**The National Immigration Forum, in conjunction with The Bullfinch Group, conducted a nationwide online survey fielded Dec. 3-7, 2024, among 1,200 adults, of whom 1,000 respondents were registered voters. Sampling controls were used to ensure that a proportional and representative number of respondents were interviewed from demographic groups such as age, gender, political affiliation, race, and geographic region. The margin of error for registered voters is ±3.1% at the 95% confidence interval. The margin of error for adults is ± 2.83% at the 95% confidence interval.