A recent Harvard Harris survey shows that most people are against local governments or sanctuary cities that impede the deportation of illegal immigrants with criminal records.
Conducted from July 6-8, 2025, the survey asked whether participants supported or opposed a city’s ability to stop the deportation of convicted offenders.
Overall, 65% of respondents opposed such protections, while 35% were in support. This sentiment crosses party lines, with 72% of Republicans, 69% of Independents, and 52% of Democrats opposing these policies. However, 48% of Democrats still favor them.
The survey also explored opinions on whether state and local police should collaborate with immigration enforcement, revealing that 70% believe they should. Only 30% disagreed.
An overwhelming 91% of Republicans, along with 66% of Independents, support this collaboration, while 51% of Democrats agree, although 49% oppose it.
Moreover, 67% of people view the Biden administration’s open border policy as intentional.
The survey has a margin of error of 2.2% and comes as the Trump administration expresses firm opposition to sanctuary cities hindering their protective efforts for Americans.
When discussing the potential election of Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani as New York City mayor, Tom Homan from the Trump administration emphasized their commitment to not cooperating with efforts aimed at deporting illegal immigrants, stating, “We’re going to be in New York City, and President Trump said it was a competition.”
“We’ll intensify our efforts in sanctuary cities—not because they’re Democratic strongholds, but because we recognize the underlying issues,” he noted. “These areas often overlook public safety and present national security risks on a daily basis. Florida doesn’t face the same issues.”
“Thus, we plan to focus our efforts in sanctuary zones. If these areas won’t allow us to detain offenders at county jails, we’ll go after them in the communities. We’ll track them down at their workplaces.”
“We’re committed to apprehending offenders,” Homan asserted. “If they won’t cooperate, they won’t impede us. It’s our responsibility to handle this.”
