Republicans back deporting illegal immigrants as Trump looks for Super Tuesday blowout

While Trump cannot win enough delegates to formally clinch the nomination on Tuesday, another dominant performance would further pressure Haley, a former South Carolina governor and his remaining rival. The day's contests will award more than one-third of Republican delegates - and more than 70% of the number needed to secure the nomination.

M any Republicans voting in U.S. presidential primary elections on Super Tuesday said immigration was their top issue and that immigrants in the country illegally should be deported, a campaign pledge made by Donald Trump. The former president aimed to vanquish his sole remaining challenger for the Republican nomination, Nikki Haley, on Super Tuesday, the biggest day in the presidential nominating calendar when 15 states and one territory were voting.

The first polls were due to close at 7 p.m. EST (0000 GMT) in Vermont and Virginia, with voting wrapping up in Alaska at midnight EST (0500 on Wednesday GMT). Trump has pledged to carry out the largest deportation of immigrants in U.S. history if he defeats Democratic incumbent Joe Biden on Nov. 5.

In three states where voters headed to the polls, 69% of Republican voters in California, 62% in North Carolina and 59% in Virginia backed deporting illegal immigrants, according to exit polls by Edison Research. But a majority of Republican voters in California and Virginia did not favor a national abortion ban. Abortion is an issue that has caused the party problems since a conservative-leaning Supreme Court ended a federal right to the procedure.

Trump, who has dominated the Republican campaign from the start despite a litany of criminal charges, has swept all but one of the contests so far, winnowing a sprawling Republican field of candidates down to two. While Trump cannot win enough delegates to formally clinch the nomination on Tuesday, another dominant performance would further pressure Haley, a former South Carolina governor and his remaining rival.

The day's contests will award more than one-third of Republican delegates - and more than 70% of the number needed to secure the nomination. Biden was expected to win Tuesday's Democratic contests easily, though activists opposed to his strong support of Israel were calling on Muslim Americans and progressives to vote "uncommitted" in Minnesota in protest.

Haley, a former U.N. ambassador under Trump, has faced mounting questions about how long she will continue her long-shot campaign, particularly after losing her home state of South Carolina 10 days ago.

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