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." In a continuing trend showing the division between the two major parties on immigration issues, "84% of Republicans and 60% of voters not affiliated with either major political party think the federal government should find visa scofflaws and deport them. But just 43% of Democrats agree."
From this survey, "only 18% say the government is too aggressive, while just as many 19% believe the level of visa enforcement is about right. 11% are not sure."
A recent report found that visa overstays account for nearly two-thirds of illegal immigration in the United States can be accounted for due to visa overstays.
via NPR (January 2019):
The report released Wednesday by the Center for Migration Studies of New York finds that from 2016-2017, people who overstayed their visas accounted for 62 percent of the newly undocumented, while 38 percent had crossed a border illegally.
"It is clear from our research that persons who overstay their visas add to the US undocumented population at a higher rate than border crossers. This is not a blip, but a trend which has become the norm," said Donald Kerwin, CMS' executive director, in a statement. "As these numbers indicate, construction of hundreds of more miles of border wall would not address the challenge of irregular migration into our country, far from it."
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