Marquette Law School Poll Shows Mixed Feelings

Sixty percent of Wisconsin adults favor President Donald Trump’s policy of deporting immigrants who are in the US illegally, according to a Marquette Law School national poll.

Republican support for the policy was almost unanimous, with 93 percent favoring the deportation of immigrants in the US illegally, the poll found. Democrats, on the other hand, were not quite as unified. While the majority opposed deporting migrants in the US illegally, 29 percent of those identifying as Democrats agreed with their Republican counterparts.

“Among Democrats, substantial majorities oppose each of [Trump’s] policies,” according to the Marquette poll’s press release, “although more than a quarter of Democrats variously support these initiatives by Trump.”

However, the poll also found that favor for deporting even those without a criminal record was just 43 percent, representing a hesitancy toward a more aggressive deportation policy. In both cases, respondents were, again, sharply divided on party lines. A significant majority of those identifying as Republicans continued to support the deportation of non-criminal migrants. The poll showed no more than 30% of Democrats in favor.

“Partisan differences are large,” the poll’s press release noted, “with a majority of Republicans supporting all the Trump policies, a majority of Democrats opposed to each policy, and majorities of independents supporting some policies while opposing others.”

Favor from adults who identified as independent were mixed on whether they favored Trump’s immigration policies, the poll found. While 51 percent favored the deportation of immigrants in the US illegally, support among independents plummeted to only 31 percent when the deportation included those without a criminal record as well.

This was the first poll since Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20 and reflects Wisconsin’s sentiment in the first few weeks of his presidency.

As a swing state, Wisconsin draws millions in campaign funds for statewide races. The direction its elections swing can have sweeping effects beyond its borders. The upcoming election for the state’s supreme court on April 1, for example, may affect how federal congressional districts are drawn, according to WUWM.

All of that is to say that the sentiments of Wisconsinites matter.

The Marquette pollsters reframed the issue of immigration to whether undocumented immigrants should be allowed to work in the US and apply for citizenship.

The results of the new poll showed a relation between the age of the respondent and their favoring for undocumented migrants. Forty-seven percent of those aged 65 and older said those who are working in the US should be allowed to continue working and apply for citizenship. For respondents aged 18-29, that figure jumped to 60 percent in favor of such a policy.

The poll also found a significant divide between male and female on the issue. Forty-six percent of males said undocumented migrants should be allowed to continue working and apply for citizenship in the US. Meanwhile, 56 percent of female respondents said the same.

The positions of racial groups also varied. The poll found that 48 percent of White non-Hispanic respondents, who were in the majority, supported immigrants remaining in the US to work and apply for citizenship. Support rose to 57 percent for Hispanic individuals. Support was highest for Black non-Hispanic Americans, which was almost 80 percent.

The Marquette poll was conducted between Jan. 27 and Feb. 5 and surveyed 1,018 adults. Of those, 31 percent identified as Republicans, 30 percent as Democrats, and 39 percent as independents. The margin of error was +/-3.6 percent.

A previous set of Marquette University polls between February and October of 2024 showed immigration was an issue that could swing wildly in just a few months. In February, 68 percent of those polled favored deporting immigrants who were in the US illegally. The number of respondents in favor then dropped by 10 percent by October.

Between March and October of the same year, Marquette pollsters found a similar shift when they reframed the question. In March, the poll found that 41 percent of adults favored allowing undocumented migrants to continue working and apply for citizenship. In October, that figure swung again in the other direction, up to 53 percent.

Since the election, those figures have shifted only slightly in Marquette’s latest poll. Support for deporting immigrants in the US illegally rebounded by 2 percent post-election, while favor for undocumented immigrants working in the country has dropped by a similar amount.