Democrats don’t realize most Americans want visa overstays deported

We could talk all day about illegal aliens coming into the country over the Mexican border (and we frequently do), but as we’ve discussed here before, that’s not the largest source of illegals in the United States. Larger numbers arrive here legally, at least initially, using various types of visas for students, tourists or seasonal workers. But when the Visas expire, they fail to leave and disappear into the interior. Oddly, that’s not the illegal immigrant population that draws the most public attention, but that doesn’t mean that voters don’t want the situation to be dealt with. Our Townhall colleague Timothy Meads reports on a new survey showing that Americans would like these visa overstays deported also.

A recent Rasmussen Reports poll finds that 62% of Likely US Voters want the United States government to deport individuals who overstay their visas and most believe the United States is too lenient on these issues.

According to the poll, which took place on April 30-May 1, 2019 via telephone and online survey of 1,000 US Likely Voters, found that “just 21% disagree, while 17% are not sure” with the idea that vias overstayers should be deported.

The same poll also found that, “51% say the government is not aggressive enough in finding those who have overstayed their visas and sending them home.”

This is yet more evidence of how badly most Democrats have overplayed their hands when it comes to illegal immigration and how out of step they are with the majority of voters. They do manage to get some traction when they talk about the challenges faced by “immigrants” (without getting specific) and focusing on the dreamers, but as soon as the conversation drifts away from that one small subset of illegal aliens, voters tune them out.

The wording of this poll is fairly straightforward also, leaving little room to fudge on the issue. They want the people overstaying their visas deported and they don’t think the government is “aggressive” enough in deporting them. Those numbers have to be music in Donald Trump’s ears.

Still, Democrats in blue states continue to swerve much further to the left. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is backing a new bill currently making its way through the legislature that would allow illegal aliens to obtain drivers licenses. But a Siena poll that was taken in March showed that 61% of New Yorkers are opposed to the plan. That’s not just conservatives, either. 45% of Democrats registered their opposition, along with a staggering 71% of independents. And remember… we’re talking about New York here, not Alabama or Mississippi.

Going into the next election cycle, the GOP needs to pick this ball up and run with it rather than being afraid to confront it. If they want to cut a deal for the Dreamers, sure… keep that on the table. But it’s clear that the Democrats have veered way too far to the left on issues of deportation, enforcement and special privileges for illegal aliens. And the left is vulnerable on this subject.