Deportations: 42% of Hispanic adults say they are worried that they or someone close to them might be deported

Immigration, particularly illegal or irregular immigration, is one of the big topics of our times. Authorities needs to know who is coming in and out of the country to preserve national security and public safety. In the last few years, it has been a real issue in Europe and North America where Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) have the authority identify, arrest and deport aliens.

Dealing with immigration and tightening border policy was high up on Donald Trump’s presidential manifesto. It was an issue he touched on several times during nationwide rallies leading up to the November 5 election.

Trump’s zero-tolerance policy on illegal immigration

In Austin, he told an audience of supporters: “We will end this migrant invasion and we will deport every last criminal alien targeting our daughters and our children, our families and other people’s families. They’re gonna be gone, they’re gonna be gone fast”.

If elected, Trump promised to establish “the largest deportation operation in American history”.

So has the president kept his word? According to figures released by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), during the first month after Trump took office, from January 20-February 21, a total of 143 deportation flights removed thousands of immigrants living illegally in the US.

Around 90% of ICE flights flew to destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean, with the rest deporting illegal aliens to Asia and Africa.

As the Trump administration continues its crackdown on illegal immigration, Pew Research Center conducted a survey to gauge public opinion and sentiment. So just how do average Americans feel about the mass deportations?

American public surveyed about immigrants being deported

Just under a third (32 percent) of US adults surveyed said that all immigrants living in the country illegally should be deported - and especially those who have committed violent crimes. The poll also showed that over half, (51%) felt that some but not all should face deportation while 16% didn’t think any should be deported.

As for which immigrants should be removed, an overwhelming 97 percent supported deporting those who have committed violent crimes.

There was also concern about the places where arrests were being made: Places of worship (65%), Schools (63%) and Hospitals (61%) were the three off-limits areas, while respondents felt that it is less intrusive to detain illegals at Protests or rallies (66%), in their homes (63%) or their workplace (54%).

About one-in-five adults (19%) say they worry that either they themselves, a family member or close friend could be deported. Nearly half of the Hispanic adults (42%) consulted in the poll said they are worried that they or someone close to them might be deported.

Immigrant crime hotspots in the US and the worst perpetrators

ICE data from October 2020 to September 2024 showed that Dallas, Houston, New Orleans and Miami were the cities were the most arrests were made for criminal convictions. New York City and Newark were the worst for immigration violations.

As for the country of origin of the perpetrators arrested by ICE for committing crimes in that four-year period, 191,532 were from Mexico, 96,624 were from Colombia, 40,487 from Peru and 39,330 were from Brazil.

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