A majority of Americans across the political spectrum support deporting undocumented immigrants and believe them to be a threat to democracy, according to the latest American Identity Poll from Ipsos and Syracuse University’s Institute for Democracy, Journalism & Citizenship released Friday.

But a vast majority of Americans across the board are opposed to deporting immigrants who have entered the country legally, and believe that immigration is a part of United States tradition.

According to the survey, 66% of Americans — including 90% of Republicans, 68% of independents and nearly half of Democrats — support deporting immigrants who are in the country illegally, including 39% who strongly support doing so.

Margaret Talev, director of the Institute for Democracy Journalism and Citizenship at Syracuse University, called the figure "stunning," but consistent with the results of other surveys.

"This may be the way Americans feel off the cuff when you ask them about this issue, but most voters that we talk to have never considered what it would actually mean and who it could actually impact," Talev said in an interview with Spectrum News. "So I think it is important as an emotional issue. It helps you understand some of the political rhetoric that [former President Donald Trump] has chosen to talk about this issue, but I think talking about it as a campaign issue and voters getting their heads around what it would really mean could be two very different things."

Conversely, 82% of Americans are opposed to deporting immigrants who are in the United States legally, including 88% of Democrats, 85% of independents and 81% of Republicans. Just 13% of respondents, including 16% of Republicans, want to deport legal immigrants.

Those numbers are largely unchanged when asked about immigrants in their specific community. Sixty-five percent support deporting undocumented migrants, and 12% support deporting legal immigrants in their communities.

All told, 65% say that undocumented immigrants represent at least some threat to democracy, including 42% percent saying they represent a major threat to democracy. An additional 23% say they represent a minor threat. Eighty-seven percent of Republicans, 72% of independents and 46% of Democrats said undocumented immigrants represent a threat to American democracy, signaling at least some consensus along the political spectrum.

An overwhelming 80% of respondents agree that the United States has always been a nation of immigrants and that immigration is a great part of American tradition, including 46% who strongly agree with that statement.

The only topic that scored higher in terms of major threats to democracy in the survey was Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee. Forty-five percent said that the former president represents a major threat to the American democratic system and rule of law, up from 43% in their previous survey from last month.

Naturally, those figures vary across party lines: Eighty-six percent of Democrats and 46% of independents say Trump is a major threat to democracy, compared to just 9% of Republicans. An overwhelming 73% of Republicans say that Trump poses no threat to democracy. 

An additional 10% said Trump represents a minor threat to democracy.

Trump’s opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, scores lower on the question of whether she poses a threat to democracy, with 33% saying she is a major threat — including 72% of Republicans and 30% of independents — and 43% saying she is not a threat to democracy, including 85% of Democrats and 42% of independents. 

An additional 9% said Harris represents a minor threat to democracy.

"If you look generically at whether Democrats or Republicans pose a threat, it's a much closer gap," Talev said. "It really is the personalities driving the way people respond here. The gap between whether people see Trump or Harris as a threat is much wider than whether people see their respective political parties as a threat."

In terms of other major figures in November’s election, 45% of respondents said Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, poses some threat to democracy (32% major, 13% minor), while 32% said he was not a threat, and 35% said Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, poses some threat to democracy (24% major, 11% minor), with 40% finding him non-threatening. Forty-five percent believe President Joe Biden does not pose a threat to democracy, compared to 43% who believe he poses some threat.

Seventy-four percent of respondents said that politicians are responsible for making sure stories and accusations they tell are accurate, a notable figure as Trump and Vance continue to spread falsehoods about legal Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, which city and state officials have refuted.

And following two attempted assassinations against Trump, Americans appeared to have at least some concern with the use violent and divisive rhetoric in politics, though the number varies among the different candidates and parties.

Fifty-eight percent of respondents say that Trump uses too much divisive and violent language, down from 61% in August and July surveys, while just 33% say Harris does the same, though that’s up slightly from 29% last month.

A majority of Americans, 52%, say Republicans use too much violent and divisive language, down slightly from 53% the month prior, compared to 42% of those who say the same about Democrats. (That figure is up slightly from 39% the month prior.)

While last month’s survey saw an overwhelming 78% of respondents emphasize the importance of seeing Trump and Harris debate, it appears that a slight majority of Americans do not need to see another one. Fifty-one percent said it’s not important for the two to face off again, compared to 46% who believe it’s important for the two to hold another debate. Harris is pushing for a second debate, agreeing over the weekend to a CNN debate at the end of next month, but Trump declined, saying it’s too close to Election Day. 

The survey was conducted among 1,029 adults from Sept. 20-22. The margin of error was +/- 3.3%.