A new YouGov poll has found that an overwhelming majority of Americans think illegal immigration is a problem, with nearly half also saying they would support immigration authorities actively searching for and deporting illegals who haven't committed crimes.
A whopping 92 percent of Americans think illegal immigration is a problem, and 77 percent believe it is a serious problem, according to the poll conducted among 1,000 Americans between Sept. 1-2.
Fifty-one percent said it is a "very serious" problem and 26 percent said it is a "somewhat serious," while 15 percent believe it is "a minor problem." Only 4 percent said illegal immigration is not a problem, and 4 percent were unsure.
When pollsters asked whether respondents would "support or oppose immigration authorities actively searching for illegal immigrants who have not committed any other crimes to deport them" from the United States, almost half - 48 percent - said they would strongly or somewhat support the effort. Thirty-eight percent said they would oppose such policies.
Of the current 2016 presidential contenders, Republican front-runner Donald Trump has most emphasized immigration reform, proposing a detailed plan calling for the deportation of all illegal immigrants and the ending of birthright citizenship, as HNGN previously reported.
But whether or not it is possible to deport the 11 million illegal immigrants currently in the country is another story. Sixty-one percent of respondents said it is either "definitely not" possible (24 percent), or "probably not" possible (37 percent).
As for the effect mass deportation would have on the lives of Americans, 31 percent said they think mass deportations would personally help them or their family, 45 percent said it would probably have no impact, and only 12 percent said it would hurt. Along party lines, 51 percent of Democrats, 47 percent of Republicans and 39 percent of independents said that mass deportation would have no real impact on their lives.
Fifty-five percent said they would support "creating a phone number where people could report activity connected to illegal immigration to the government."
Half of all Americans would "definitely" (26 percent) or "probably" (24 percent) report someone suspected to be illegally employing illegal immigrants. Thirteen percent said they would "definitely not" report employers of illegal immigrants, and 19 percent said they would "probably not," while 16 percent of respondents were unsure.
In another question, YouGov asked, "If you suspected that illegal immigrants were living in a house in your neighborhood, would you report this to the government?"
Seventeen percent said they would "definitely not" report suspected illegal immigrant neighbors and 24 percent said "probably not," while 39 percent said they would "definitely" or "probably" report them.
