Nov 6, 2024 3:30 PM EDT

Trump’s tough-on-immigration policies resonated with voters

Voters were more likely to embrace hardline immigration policies than they were four years ago, which aligned with Donald Trump’s tough approach.

In AP Votecast survey data, about 4 in 10 voters said that immigrants living in the U.S. illegally should be deported to the country they came from, up from about 3 in 10 in 2020. And while most voters said that immigrants living in the U.S. illegally should be offered a chance to apply for legal status, that was down from 2020.

Trump has seized on an increase in illegal crossings at the U.S. border with Mexico as a driver of crime and falsely accused Haitian immigrants in Ohio of eating dogs and cats. That position may have echoed in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin – three states far from the southern border where about 8 in 10 Trump voters said they supported deportation over a chance to apply for legal status.

Read more AP Votecast findings.