Do 92 Percent of People Agree on DACA? Not Quite
President Donald Trump cited an impressively large poll number Thursday to back up his overnight decision to collaborate with top Democrats in an effort to save young immigrants from deportation. The only problem: That number might not be accurate.
Trump, leaving the White House Thursday morning en route to survey Hurricane Irma damage in Florida, told reporters he was "working on a plan for DACA," referring to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program President Barack Obama established to cover undocumented youth brought to the U.S. by their parents. Trump said "people want to see that happen," including House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Related: DACA by the numbers
"Mitch is on board, Paul Ryan's on board," Trump said. "We all feel, look, 92 percent of the people agree on DACA, but what we want is very, very powerful border security, OK?"
If that 92 percent figure seems unbelievable, that's because it is. Newsweek couldn't find data reinforcing Trump's claim.
Voters do, mostly, support protecting the young immigrants, known as Dreamers. A Morning Consult poll from April found 56 percent of people said they believed Dreamers "should be allowed to stay and become citizens if they meet certain requirements," while 22 percent said they thought immigrants "should be allowed to stay and become legal residents."
The Trump administration announced that it was winding down DACA earlier this month and punting the issue to Congress. Afterward, Morning Consult did another survey, and 39 percent of respondents said they thought passing a bill to protect Dreamers should be a "top priority" for lawmakers. More than half said they wanted Congress to pass legislation that would allow the immigrants to stay and ultimately become citizens.
Trump on Wednesday night apparently worked on a plan to cover Dreamers with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, though the details so far are murky. Schumer and Pelsoi released a statement saying they'd had a productive dinner with the president during which the trio "agreed to enshrine the protections of DACA into law quickly," as well as to create bipartisan border security legislation that excluded Trump's much-hyped wall along between the U.S. Mexico.
Trump walked back those claims on Thursday morning.
"No deal was made last night on DACA. Massive border security would have to be agreed to in exchange for consent. Would be subject to vote," he tweeted. "The WALL, which is already under construction in the form of new renovation of old and existing fences and walls, will continue to be built."
The president then asked whether anyone truly wanted to "throw out" young undocumented immigrants.
Trump has long used inflated poll numbers to reinforce his decisions, and his 92 percent remark may be another example. DACA doesn't draw that kind of support, but there are issues that do: background checks for gun buyers and police body cameras, for example.
Newsweek has reached out to the White House for clarity.
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