The U.S. public is split over President Trump’s decision to deploy thousands of National Guard troops and hundreds of Marines to help quell protests over his robust immigration agenda that have spread across the country, according to a recent survey.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll released Thursday evening found that nearly half of Americans surveyed — 48 percent — said they agree that the president should “deploy the military to bring order to the streets” when the demonstrations become violent. Another 41 percent of respondents did not agree with the statement.
GOP respondents were more supportive of having troops assist with containing protests, while Democrats were strongly against it, the survey found.
The poll found that about a third of respondents, 35 percent, backed the Trump administration’s response to the demonstrations in Los Angeles — which were sparked by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) latest deportation raids.
The administration approved the deployment of Marines and National Guard troops, arguing it was necessary to restore order as cars were being lit on fire and a federal building in downtown Los Angeles was vandalized. Half of the respondents said they did not approve of the moves, the data shows.
And 46 percent of U.S. adults said the anti-ICE protesters were out of step, while another 38 percent disagreed, the poll found.
Trump’s promise from the campaign trail to ramp up deportations of those living in the country illegally still has strong support. More than half of respondents, 52 percent, were supportive of the president’s mass deportation efforts. That includes about 1 in 5 Democratic Party voters and about 90 percent of GOP backers, according to the survey.
Nearly half of the respondents, 49 percent, said the Trump administration has gone overboard with arresting migrants, while 40 percent did not agree.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted June 11-12 among 1,136 Americans. The margin of error was 3 percentage points.
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