---
title: "In 2018, Americans broadly supported legal status for immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children"
description: "Nearly three-quarters of Americans favor granting permanent legal status to immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally when they were children."
date: "2018-06-18"
authors:
  - name: "Carroll Doherty"
    job_title: "Former Director, Political Research"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/carroll-doherty/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2018/06/18/americans-broadly-support-legal-status-for-immigrants-brought-to-the-u-s-illegally-as-children-2/"
categories:
  - "Immigration & Migration"
  - "Immigration Attitudes"
  - "Political Issues"
  - "Unauthorized Immigration"
---

# In 2018, Americans broadly supported legal status for immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children

*Note: See [this post](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/06/17/americans-broadly-support-legal-status-for-immigrants-brought-to-the-u-s-illegally-as-children/) for more recent opinion and demographic data on those brought to the U.S. illegally as children.*

[![Most Americans favor granting legal status to immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally as children](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/06/FT_18.06.18_immigrationViews_most-Americans-favor.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/ft_18-06-18_immigrationviews_most-americans-favor/)

Most Americans favor granting permanent legal status to immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally as children. And a 56% majority opposes substantially expanding the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Nearly three-quarters (73%) of Americans favor granting permanent legal status to immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally when they were children, while just 20% are opposed, according to a new national survey by Pew Research Center, conducted June 5-12 among 2,002 adults. Opinions on this issue – and views of expanding the U.S.-Mexico border wall – have changed little since January.

Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents overwhelmingly favor granting legal status to those who came to the U.S. illegally as children (89%), as do about half of Republicans and Republican leaners (54%); about a third of Republicans (36%) oppose this policy. (The findings in this survey do not relate to the [current controversy](https://www.vox.com/2018/6/11/17443198/children-immigrant-families-separated-parents) over separating immigrants from their children at the border, but only to children who had already arrived in the U.S. with their families.)

[![In GOP, demographic differences in views of granting legal status to those who came to the U.S. illegally as children](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/06/FT_18.06.18_immigrationViews_GOP-demographic-differences.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/ft_18-06-18_immigrationviews_gop-demographic-differences/)

Republican men (40%) are more likely to oppose granting legal status than are Republican women (32%). And while younger Republicans (those ages 18 to 49) broadly support granting legal status to those brought to the U.S. illegally as children (59% favor, 34% oppose), older Republicans are more divided (49% favor, 38% oppose).

There is no major subgroup of Republicans in which a majority opposes granting legal status to immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children. Among Democrats, there is broad support for this policy across nearly all demographic and ideological groups.[]

**Continued opposition to expanding border wall**

![Whites divided on expanding border wall; Hispanics, blacks widely opposed](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/FT_18.06.18_immigrationViews_whites-divided-wall.png)

Currently, 56% of Americans are opposed to expanding the wall along the U.S. border with Mexico, while 40% favor doing so. Opinions are little changed since January, when 60% opposed expanding the border wall and 37% were opposed.

By a wide margin, Republicans continue to favor expanding the wall. Nearly three-quarters (74%) of Republicans and Republican leaners favor expanding the border wall, while 22% are opposed. Democrats, by an even wider margin (83% to 14%), oppose the wall’s expansion.

There also are race, age and educational differences in these views. Whites are divided (48% favor, 48% oppose), while large majorities of Hispanics (73%) and blacks (71%) oppose expanding the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

As was the case in January, older adults and those who have not completed college are more likely than young people and those with four-year degrees to favor expanding the border wall.

*Note: See [full topline results](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/FT_18.06.18_immigrationViews_topline_for_release.pdf) and methodology [here](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/FT_18.06.18_immigrationViews_methodology.pdf) (PDF). *