Voters Think Legal Residents and Undocumented Immigrants Should Have Due Process
Over the last month, the Trump administration has ramped up its promise to carry out “mass deportations.”
On March 8, immigration authorities arrested and detained Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder who recently graduated from Columbia University and was active in pro-Palestine protests on campus. Since then, hundreds of international students across the country have had their student visas revoked for a variety of alleged infractions, ranging from traffic violations to pro-Palestinian speech.
In mid-March, the administration also deported more than 200 Venezuelan immigrants — many with active asylum cases before courts — whom it alleges to be gang members to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, pointing to the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 as justification for bypassing the usual due process of law. Among them was Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was unlawfully deported due to an “administrative error.” Despite acknowledging the error and the Supreme Court ruling in favor of his return, the Trump administration has refused to bring Abrego Garcia back to the U.S.
A new Data for Progress survey examined if voters support due process rights for immigrants, whether they are legal permanent residents with a green card or visa, or living here undocumented. Overall, voters strongly support affording due process rights to immigrants.
After being informed that some immigrants, like green card and visa holders, are not citizens, but are granted permission to live in the U.S. legally, voters were asked if they think immigrants with green cards and visas should or should not be afforded several constitutional rights. Across the board, a strong majority of voters, including majorities across party lines, believe that immigrants with green cards and visas should have the right to be informed of the charges against them (81%), the right to a fair trial (77%), the right to present a defense (75%), and the right to appeal a court decision (69%).
In the case of the more than 200 Venezuelan immigrants deported in March, the Trump administration has declined to provide evidence of alleged criminal activity, citing “state secrets privilege.”
When asked broadly about the due process rights of undocumented immigrants, a majority of voters (57%), including a majority of Democrats (83%) and Independents (59%), believe that “the federal government should only be allowed to deport undocumented immigrants if it has provided evidence and a hearing,” while 39% of voters believe “the federal government should be allowed to deport undocumented immigrants without providing evidence and a hearing.”
These findings demonstrate that voters overwhelmingly support affording due process rights to immigrants with green cards and visas, and a majority also say that the federal government should only be allowed to deport undocumented immigrants if it has provided evidence and a hearing. This research builds upon previous Data for Progress polling, which has found that while voters may say they support “mass deportations” in the abstract, they express opposition to deportations when presented with a wide variety of real-life scenarios.
Survey Methodology
From April 11 to 14, 2025, Data for Progress conducted a survey of 1,165 U.S. likely voters nationally using web panel respondents. The sample was weighted to be representative of likely voters by age, gender, education, race, geography, and recalled presidential vote. The survey was conducted in English. The margin of error associated with the sample sizeis±3 percentage points. Results for subgroups of the sample are subject to increased margins of error. Partisanship reflected in tabulations is based on self-identified party affiliation, not partisan registration. For more information please visit dataforprogress.org/our-methodology.