64% of Texans believe undocumented immigrants should be allowed to stay, poll shows
NOGALES, MEXICO - JANUARY 21: A mother waits with her daughter Fernanda, 5, to enter the United States for her kindergarten class on January 21, 2025 from Nogales, Mexico. She said they normally cross by car, but decided to go instead by foot because
HOUSTON - A new poll from the University of Houston shows 64 percent of Texans believe undocumented immigrants should be allowed to stay in the United States as long as certain requirements are met.
By the numbers:
The poll surveyed 1,200 Texans between Jan. 13-21, 2025.
Of those surveyed, 44 percent of Republicans and 88 percent of Democrats said undocumented immigrants should be able to stay in the United States.
When broken down further, of those 64 percent who believe undocumented immigrants should have a path to staying in the United States, 82 percent believe those with felony convictions should not be allowed to stay. Sixty-one percent felt the same way about those who have misdemeanor convictions.
Among those 64 percent, just over half or 56 percent believe undocumented immigrants should be allowed to apply for citizenship. The other 44 percent think they should be allowed to apply for legal permanent residency, but not citizenship.
On deportations
The survey asked respondents several questions about mass deportations.
Among those, 87 percent of Texans support increasing targeted deportations of undocumented immigrants with criminal convictions. Around 95 percent of Republicans and 81 percent of Democrats were in support.
That number drops to 72 percent when asked to consider deporting those whose asylum bids were denied, but remain in the United States with 87 percent of Republicans and 57 percent of Democrats in support.
Only 60 percent of Texans support the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, with 83 percent of Republicans supporting compared to just 34 percent of Democrats.
What they're saying:
A majority of Texans said they supported allowing immigrants brought into the country as children to remain in the United States, creating more opportunities for legal immigration and increasing the number of immigration judges to hear asylum applications.
Who did they ask?
The survey was broken down by ethnicity, gender and age.
Forty-five percent of those asked were white, while 36 percent were Latino, 12 percent were Black and 7 percent marked other.
The poll was 51 percent women and 49 percent men.
Survey participants ranged from the Silent Generation to Gen Z.
Education level, income and political leanings were also factored in.
The Source: Information in this article comes from the University of Houston's Hobby School of Public Affairs.