Reading Time: 3 minutesAnti-immigrant messaging featured prominently at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this summer.Convention goers waved “MASS DEPORTATION NOW!” signs. The party’s 2024 platform declared that with a second term former President Donald Trump would “CARRY OUT THE LARGEST DEPORTATION OPERATION IN AMERICAN HISTORY.”But even as immigration remains a top issue for the Trump campaign and voters — it was tied for the second most important issue for voters in a recent Marquette Law School Poll — new survey results suggest a majority of Wisconsin Republicans might not be sold on one of Trump’s top campaign pledges.The poll, conducted by the University of Maryland’s Program for Public Consultation, which has been conducting in-depth surveys on key issues in six battleground states, found that 63% of Wisconsin residents would prefer finding a pathway to citizenship for “undocumented immigrants who have been living in the US for some years and have not committed a serious crime. They would pay a penalty and any taxes they owe. After several years, they would be allowed to apply for citizenship.”Only 25% in Wisconsin support mass deportation, described as an effort “with the goal of finding, detaining and deporting most or all of the 11 million people who have been living in the US without legal status. States would be asked to use their local law enforcement or National Guard, and the Federal government may use the military.”More than three in four Democrats and 51% of Republicans in Wisconsin prefer a path to citizenship over a mass deportation program. Thirty-six percent of Republicans in this crucial battleground state preferred mass deportation. Nationally, 58% prefer a path to citizenship while just 26% favor mass deportation.So why, then, is there a disconnect between what voters favor and what Trump is campaigning on?First, it “is not uncommon that majorities find the pro arguments and the con arguments convincing, so the same person can find both sides convincing,” said Steven Kull, the Program for Public Consultation’s director.That’s why, in a rally or group setting, a message of “this is going to be dealt with” resonates with voters, he said. But, when voters “actually reason through” the pluses and minuses of each option, they are able to shift their views on something they initially like when hearing surface-level details, Kull said.Trump’s signature proposal to build a wall along the southern border was supported by 59% of Wisconsin respondents, including 76% of Wisconsin Republicans. Meanwhile, 54% of Democrats in the state opposed the idea. Nationally, 55% are in favor of building the wall, according to the poll.There was bipartisan consensus on a few immigration-related policies. For example, 74% of Wisconsin residents supported a proposal that would increase the number of border patrol agents from 20,000 to 22,000.There was also support for increasing “the number of migrant workers who enter the US legally by increasing the number of work visas available, provided there is a demand for such workers.”Respondents were informed that the “work visas are only granted if the employer has tried and failed to fill the position with an American worker; that employers must pay migrant workers the same wages they would to American workers; and that currently offering more visas would substantially increase the number of legal migrant workers.”It was backed by 71% of respondents, including 58% of Republicans and 84% of Democrats.Trump’s threats of mass deportation have rattled Wisconsin’s dairy industry, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Given that some estimates say upwards of 80% of workers at large dairy farms are immigrants, many of them in the country illegally, their removal could threaten the day-to-day operations of dairies across the state.A proposal to hire hundreds of additional immigration judges to speed up the processing of asylum cases is favored by 61% of Wisconsin residents, though with 76% support from Democrats. Among Republicans, 54% oppose adding judges.If you’re interested in going through the policymaking simulation, you can do so here.Forward is a look ahead at the week in Wisconsin government and politics from the Wisconsin Watch statehouse team.Donald Trump wants mass deportations, but poll finds even majority of Republicans don’t support that is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.