With Donald Trump just days away from returning to the White House — and getting started on a promised immigration crackdown of historic proportions — a majority of Georgia voters said they believe that most immigrants living in the country illegally should be given a chance to remain.
That’s according to a new poll by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which found 57% of people surveyed said they believe there should be a way for most people who have come to the U.S. unlawfully “to stay in the country legally if certain requirements are met.” In contrast, 37% of respondents think the federal government should “round up and deport” most of the people who immigrated illegally.
Among those with a college degree, support for mass deportations fell to 26%. It rose to 52% support among those people with a high school education or less. Men (41%) were also more likely than women (33%) to support removing most immigrants in the U.S. illegally from the country.
There was also stark political polarization: 67% of Republican respondents were in favor of mass deportations, and 86% of Democrats wanted most immigrants in the country illegally to be able to stay.
Mike White, from Franklin County, said he backs widescale deportations.
“I want them all deported,” he said. “I didn’t spend 25 years in the Marine Corps to watch my country fall apart to illegal immigrants.”
White is unhappy with immigrants in the country illegally because he believes that “they get government subsidies that Americans aren’t even allowed to get.”
“They’re a drain on our economy,” he added.
In Georgia, state law prohibits residents who lack legal status from receiving public assistance, though some services related to education, law enforcement, and health care are available to all. Immigrants in the country illegally pay into the system via property, sales, and income taxes.
Tyler Thomas, from DeKalb County, said he could envision some “positives” to mass deportations, including a potential surge in available housing stock and falling rent prices.
“I don’t think it’s worth it, though. I don’t think we should be doing that,” he said, noting he supports both more enforcement at the border, and for there to be some leeway for immigrants who are already here.
“If a person has ties to the community here, they shouldn’t just be uprooted,” he said. “I think there should be a program in place with contingencies that allow people to remain if certain conditions are met.”
The AJC’s January poll of 1,000 registered Georgia voters was conducted between Jan. 2-10 by the University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs Survey Research Center. The margin of error is 3.1 percentage points.
In its question about immigration policy, the poll referred to “unauthorized immigrants” solely in the broad meaning of “people who have come to this country illegally.”
Public polling on deportations can vary significantly depending on how questions are framed, with support rising when people are asked about immigrants who have committed crimes, and falling when they’re asked to consider people who have jobs, families in the U.S. and no criminal record.
Charles Kuck, a longtime Atlanta area immigration attorney, said he suspects most AJC poll respondents support letting most immigrants in the country illegally become legal residents because of positive personal experiences with that community in their day-to-day lives.
“So many U.S. citizens know people who are undocumented, and they know them as good people,” he said. “There are so many small business owners in Atlanta that depend on these workers. Do they know they’re undocumented? Not all the time. But they have suspicions. Every week, [employers] come in and say: ‘Hey, I need you to help Juan.’
“Yeah, well, I can’t help Juan. The law doesn’t let me.”
For Gigi Pedraza, the executive director of the Latino Community Fund Georgia, the poll results reflect how integrated immigrants are in Georgia’s society and economy.
“The fact is that immigrants are doctors, immigrants are dentists, immigrants are engineers, immigrants are the people who care for our loved ones,” she said. “It’s immigrants who build cities and who keep hospitals clean. And so, the impact, the positive impact we bring can turn to negative impact if we are removed from the communities we have been supporting and working in.”
Overall, 7% of those polled named immigration as the most important issue facing Georgia today, behind inflation (30%), the economy and jobs (14%), education (8%) and political division (7.1%). Immigration ranked as a more pressing concern than gun violence (6.8%) and health care (6%), among other issues.
Rising support for more limited immigration
Attitudes toward immigration and immigration enforcement have been changing.
In his term in the White House, President Joe Biden oversaw record numbers of illegal border crossings — a development that proved to be a key drag on his popularity. Trump’s successful campaign to replace him as president made cracking down on immigration an integral part of its message.
Gallup has been surveying Americans about their preferred immigration levels since 1965.
According to that pollster, the number of U.S. adults who wish to see immigration levels reduced is at its highest reading in over 20 years. In a 2024 poll, 55% of respondents indicated they would like to see immigration to the U.S. curbed, up from 41% a year prior.
That poll found respondents split on a policy to deport all immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, but a majority support for expanding border walls and hiring more border patrol agents. Still, 70% of U.S. adults said they favored giving immigrants in the country illegally a chance to obtain legal status if certain requirements are met.
Support for a tougher stance on immigration seems to be growing in the U.S. Capitol, as some Democratic lawmakers, including from Georgia, have signaled support for the Republican-led Laken Riley Act. It would allow law enforcement to detain and possibly deport immigrants who are living in the country illegally and have been accused of theft or burglary.
Responding to questions by Republican Georgia U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed it would need a massive funding hike to implement the bill.
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