El Salvador deportation is just another partisan jump ball, says poll

The barrage of media coverage and political activity surrounding the deportation of an illegal migrant to El Salvador might suggest the story plays to the advantage of Democrats targeting President Trump’s immigration crackdown. But that’s actually not the case according to new poll data provided to The Spectator.

Polling this week conducted by OnMessage, one of the top Republican-aligned firms, found that despite the drumbeat in support of the Democratic storyline on Kilmar Abrego Garcia over the past several weeks, American voters are evenly split on the issue overall – reflecting how quickly this case has become a simple partisan divide.

Overall, support for the Garcia deportation is dead even at 49-49. When the question is given a Republican lean, accepting the Trump assertion that Garcia was a violent gang member, support moves to 50-48. When asked if they agreed with a due process focused question – “The Trump administration wrongly deported this man, separating him from his family without legal due process” – produced a statistically identical result, with 49 percent agreeing and 48 percent disagreeing.

On the broader question of President Trump’s immigration policy, he continues to find significant popular appeal, with more than 54 percent support for mass deportation to “remove most of the illegal immigrants that came in over the last four years,” with support from Independent voters clocking in at 52-46, and support from women voters evenly divided.

On other questions, the poll found continued support for DoGE and its declared mission, with a nearly ten point spread versus opposition. Republicans maintain advantages on “Improving the economy for people like me” and “Fighting for the American middle class,” and on Trump’s tariff policy, support for reciprocal tariffs against other nations, and support for tariffs specifically targeting China, both finding support from 59 percent.

The survey, conducted April 16-17, included 1,000 likely voters, with a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent.