Many in the mainstream media have portrayed former President Donald Trump's pledge to deport large numbers of illegal migrants as being extreme.

However, the website Axios recently confessed that Trump's plan appears to have won widespread public support.  

Poll finds just over half of Americans back deporting illegal migrants

As evidence for that, it cited a Harris Poll survey which was carried out among  6,251 adults between March and April of this year.

EXCLUSIVE POLL: Americans are open to Trump's harshest immigration plans.

Half — including 42% of Democrats — say they'd support mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, per a new Axios Vibes survey by The Harris Poll. https://t.co/fXPKxpGlQj pic.twitter.com/UIWn2SRKn7

— Axios (@axios) April 25, 2024

The poll found that 51% of Americans agree with the president's proposal, with support strongest among Republicans at 68%. However, mass deportation is also embraced by 46% of independent voters and even 42% of Democrats.

When respondents were broken down by race, the survey showed that 56% are on board with Trump's plan. They are joined by 45% of Hispanics and 40% of African Americans.

Pollster "surprised at the public support for large-scale deportations"

Baby boomers are the most favorably disposed generational cohort, with 60% expressing approval. That figure drops to 53% of Generation X, 48% of Millennials, and just 35% of Generation Z.

The survey found less support for a proposal to end birthright citizenship for the children of illegal migrants, an idea backed by 46% of Republicans and 30% of Democrats.

Mark Penn is a former pollster for President Bill Clinton who currently serves as chairman of The Harris Poll, and he acknowledged that the survey's results caught him off guard.

"I was surprised at the public support for large-scale deportations," Penn was quoted as telling Axios. "I think they're just sending a message to politicians: 'Get this under control."

Plurality say Biden's policies are "most responsible" for border crisis

Penn went on to caution that efforts by President Biden "to shift responsibility for the issue to Trump are not going to work."

Indeed, the poll found that 32% plurality of participants regard Biden's policies as being the "most responsible" for America's border crisis.

The survey's results come in the wake of multiple high-profile news stories featuring horrific crimes committed by illegal migrants.

They include the death of 22-year-old Georgia nursing student Lakin Riley, who was brutally murdered earlier this year while going out for a job. The man accused of killing her, Venezuelan national Jose Ibarra, was previously arrested in New York City.