A survey published on Tuesday from UtahPolicy.com asked whether Utahns would support President-Elect Donald Trump’s proposal to deport undocumented immigrants with criminal records.
According to Bryan Schott, Managing Editor of UtahPolicy.com, the results from the new survey are mostly what you’d expect about immigration in a republican state: three quarters of Utahns either "somewhat" or "strongly" support Donald Trump’s proposal to increase deportations of undocumented immigrants with criminal backgrounds.
The most significant support came from Republicans, followed by support from political Independents. But compared to other more divisive promises Trump made during the election many Democrats in Utah also support this one.
"It’s not as sharp of a partisan divide as we’ve seen on a number of other issues," Schott says.
According to the state-wide survey conducted by Dan Jones and Associates, 56 percent of Utah Democrats said they’re opposed to Trump on this issue – less than normal.
"Usually when it comes to any of his proposals, we see 70, 80 percent opposition from Utah Democrats," he says.
Schott says the survey question did not elaborate on what defines a criminal record, like someone with a felony conviction versus a misdemeanor for something like a DUI. He also pointed out that so far, the Trump administration hasn’t offered details about how their plan would be different from Obama’s, whose administration deported more people than any other presidency.
For now, Schott says, it’s a sign that Utahns once opposed to Donald Trump the candidate, may be warming up to the idea of Trump the president.