Unidentified speaker cites polling to defend Trump deportation agenda and urges local cooperation

An unidentified speaker said that recent attacks by Democrats and the media have failed to dent President Trump’s deportation agenda and cited a newly referenced Harvard Harris poll as evidence of public backing for tougher immigration enforcement.

The speaker asserted, “Brand new Harvard Harris polling shows overwhelming support for President Trump's efforts to protect law abiding citizens from criminal illegal aliens,” and said “nearly 8 in 10 Americans” support deporting people described as criminal and that a “solid majority” would back deporting all people in the country without authorization regardless of additional offenses. The speaker also said “more than 2 in 3 Americans” support a Trump administration requirement that state and local officials cooperate with federal authorities and hand over people jailed on criminal charges for deportation.

The remarks attributed poll findings and specific support levels to the cited Harvard Harris polling; the speaker did not provide the poll's full citation, methodology, sample size or timing during the remarks. The statements in the speech are assertions by the speaker and were presented as evidence of public support for the administration’s enforcement priorities.

No formal motion, vote or policy change was recorded in the transcript excerpt. The speaker urged cooperation by state and local officials with federal authorities but did not identify specific local jurisdictions or cite any statutory requirement compelling such cooperation in the excerpt.

The transcript contains charged language used by the speaker (for example, "illegal aliens"). The reporting above attributes those phrases to the speaker and paraphrases other claims; the poll and its methodology were not independently verified in the remarks.