Axios commissioned a Harris poll and discovered something unsurprising, even if the establishment was shocked. 

Americans support mass deportations of illegal aliens. I suspect they would support mass deportations of some legal aliens who express anti-American views as well, come to think of it. 

EXCLUSIVE POLL: Americans are open to Trump's harshest immigration plans.

Half — including 42% of Democrats — say they'd support mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, per a new Axios Vibes survey by The Harris Poll. https://t.co/fXPKxpGlQj pic.twitter.com/UIWn2SRKn7

— Axios (@axios) April 25, 2024

"I was surprised at the public support for large-scale deportations," said Mark Penn, chairman of The Harris Poll and a former pollster for President Clinton.

I'm not at all. This is what is called a backlash, dude. 

Americans have consistently expressed support for legal immigration but just as consistently told everyone that they don't like illegal immigration. 

Nobody in power has listened to them--Biden has opened the floodgates instead, with millions of illegal immigrants streaming into the country and wreaking havoc in our cities. 

What did he expect? Flower petals tossed at the people ruining our cities, perhaps. 

The sentiment is not universal, of course, but even 42% of Democrats support rounding up illegal aliens and tossing them out of the country. 

That's a big slap in the face to our establishment, especially President Biden. As Biden tells Americans that illegal immigrants built our country (how? they weren't even here!), most Americans see the billions of dollars being poured into housing and feeding people, many of whom turn out to be criminals. 

Americans are open to former President Trump's harshest immigration plans, spurred on by a record surge of illegal border crossings and a relentless messaging war waged by Republicans.

• President Biden is keenly aware the crisis threatens his re-election. He's sought to flip the script by accusing Trump of sabotaging Congress' most conservative bipartisan immigration bill in decades.
• But when it comes to blame, Biden so far has failed to shift the narrative: 32% of respondents say his administration is "most responsible" for the crisis, outranking any other political or structural factor.

Axios Vibe Check: Amid a record number of border crossings, nearly two-thirds of Americans said illegal immigration is a real crisis, not a politically driven media narrative.

Two-thirds say that, and a lot more than that think it. 

Trump has vowed to carry out the "largest domestic deportation operation in American history," eyeing sweeping raids and detention camps in a plan that would target millions of undocumented immigrants.

• Americans typically aren't eager to deport immigrants who have put down roots in the U.S. But the poll of 6,251 U.S. adults suggests that the dynamic may be changing amid rising fears about crime and violence.
• Trump has fanned those fears at every opportunity, campaigning on false claims of a "migrant crime wave" and declaring that immigrants are "poisoning the blood of our country."

When asked to identify their greatest concern around illegal immigration, Americans most frequently cited:

1. Increased crime rates, drugs, and violence (21%).
2. The additional costs to taxpayers (18%).
3. Risk of terrorism and national security (17%).

Americans haven't turn their back on legal immigration. Overwhelming numbers still express support for immigrants and hold no ill will towards them. Perhaps that is because people who waited in line to come to this country for a better life tend to be good citizens, productive members of society, and even more likely to be entrepreneurs than natural-born citizens. 

Immigrants add to the vitality of this country. 

But if your very first act in America is to break the law--and that is what we are talking about--perhaps you aren't quite the same as those who came here legally. 

Just sayin'.

The survey still found Americans strongly support immigration as long as it is lawful. "Illegal" immigration is what's giving people anxiety.

• 58% said they support expanding legal pathways for orderly immigration, while 46% said asylum seekers should be protected if their cases are legitimate.
• 68% said illegal immigration causes major problems in communities, while only 27% said the same about legal immigration.
• And 65% of Americans think the U.S. should make it easier for anyone seeking a better life to enter legally so they don't need to enter illegally.

See those numbers? Only 32% of people don't think illegal immigration is a major problem, while 73% don't think legal immigrants are a problem. 

We aren't xenophobes. We want law-abiding and productive people to come here, not people who start their journey as residents as criminals who demand we house and feed them. 

Pretty simple, really.