Poll: 80 Percent of Americans Back Sanctuary City Crackdown

Americans overwhelmingly believe illegal immigrants arrested for crimes in so-called sanctuary cities ought to turned over to federal authorities, an online poll shows.

The Harvard-Harris survey provided to The Hill, posted Tuesday, found 80 percent of voters say local authorities should have to comply with the law by reporting to federal agents the illegal immigrants with whom they come in contact.

Further, the poll found 52 percent support President Donald Trump's two executive orders allowing the building of a border wall and increasing the number of immigration officers, and for finding a way to revoke federal funds for sanctuary cities.

Americans also strongly support an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws, the survey found; 77 percent say they support comprehensive immigration reform, while 23 percent are opposed, the poll found.

"While there is broad support for comprehensive immigration reform, there is overwhelming opposition to sanctuary cities," Harvard–Harris co-director Mark Penn told The Hill. "The public wants honest immigrants treated fairly and those who commit crimes deported and that's very clear from the data."

The poll also found:

• 53 percent of respondents said they back Trump's travel ban, which was rejected by the courts.
• 56 percent said they support the specific aspect of Trump's order that pauses immigration from the seven countries on the terrorism watch list until a new vetting system is in place; support rises to 60 percent when the seven nations are described as "Muslim majority countries."
• 38 percent said the federal judge's suspension of the executive order makes the nation less safe, 36 percent said the court ruling will have no impact and 26 percent said it will make the country safer.
• 47 percent said allowing refugees into the country has a negative impact on the nation; 33 percent said it has a positive effect.
• 51 percent said there should be fewer than 100,000 Syrian refugees accepted into the country; 34 percent said 100,000 is an appropriate number, and 15 percent more should be allowed.

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