A majority of Americans want lower levels of immigration overall, according to a new poll ahead of an election in which immigration and the crisis at the southern border are going to be top issues for voters.
Fifty-five percent of voters want to see immigration to the U.S. decrease, according to a recent Gallup poll. That is up dramatically from 41% last year, and the first time since 2005 a majority of Americans want less immigration. It’s also the highest since the 58% recorded in 2001.
The percentage of Americans who want more immigration is at 16%. It’s a sharp change from 2020 and 2021, when 34% wanted more immigration and only about 30% wanted less.
BORDER SECURITY, ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION TOP AGENDA AT GOP CONVENTION: ‘MASS DEPORTATION NOW!’
By party affiliation, 88% of Republicans, 50% of independents and 28% of Democrats want less immigration.
Migrants are processed by the U.S. Border Patrol near Jacumba Hot Springs after crossing the US-Mexico border June 13, 2024, in San Diego. (Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)
It comes amid a third year of an ongoing crisis at the southern border. While that is primarily an issue of illegal immigration, there are ongoing concerns from Republicans about the use of parole by the Biden administration to admit hundreds of thousands into the U.S., which counts as legal immigration.
Multiple polls, including Gallup, have consistently shown the border crisis is a top issue for voters ahead of the November election.
For solutions to the crisis, 67% want Border Patrol agents, 53% want border wall expansion, 47% want deportation of all illegal immigrants and 70% want to give illegal immigrants a path to citizenship if they meet “certain requirements over time,” according to the poll.
The poll was taken in June and published last week, just before the Republican National Convention, where border security was a top issue. Signs of “Mass Deportation Now!” were seen throughout the event.
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People hold signs that say “Mass Deportation Now!” on the third day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum July 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Former President Trump used the convention to tout his record in office, saying his strategy to stop illegal immigration, including border wall construction and increased interior enforcement, had worked.
“We stopped the invasion. But the invasion that we stopped was peanuts by comparison to what happened after I left. Look at what happened after I left. They took over our country,” Trump said.
“We ended all catch and release. We shut down asylum fraud. We stopped human trafficking and forged historic agreements to keep illegal aliens on foreign soil. We want them to stay on this soil under the Trump administration. If you came in illegally, you were apprehended immediately, and you were deported. You went right back. The current administration terminated every single one of those great Trump policies that I put in place to seal the border.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS
The Biden administration has said it has been trying to solve what it says is a hemisphere-wide crisis but needs funding and immigration reform from Congress, something it blames Republicans and Trump for blocking for political purposes.
The White House said this week that since an executive order by President Biden was announced in June to limit entries into the U.S., encounters overall have decreased by more than 50% and the number of releases has decreased by 70%. Officials also say the administration has removed and returned more than 50,000 individuals to more than 100 countries.
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“While the president’s action has led to significant results, it is clear that the only lasting solution to the challenges we are seeing on our border — the solution that would deliver additional authorities, resources and personnel that we need to secure our border — is through congressional action,” an official said.
