Immigration has become one of the top concerns of Americans, and the nation is getting in line behind Democrats in their fight with President Trump over a border wall and amnesty, according to a new survey.
Nearly eight-in-10 cited immigration as a top issue to them in the midterm congressional election and 21 percent call it the “country’s most important problem,” according to Gallup.
But while that is likely driven by the president’s focus on the issue since his 2016 election and the recent government shutdown over it, the public is decidedly against Trump’s efforts to build the wall and crackdown on the illegal entry of immigrants into the U.S.
According to Gallup:
- 60 percent oppose significant new construction on border walls.
- 81 percent support a path to citizenship for immigrants in the U.S. illegally.
- 61 percent oppose deporting all immigrants in the U.S. illegally back to their home country.
- 75 percent favor hiring more Border Patrol agents.
Gallup said the bottom line is that Democrats, and not the president, have the edge in the immigration debate, though Trump will have another shot at convincing the public he is correct during Tuesday’s State of the Union Address.
“Most of the cards at this point seem to be in the hands of the Democratic negotiators,” said Gallup, adding, “The public is solidly against the expansion of the border walls and remains sympathetic toward immigrants in the country illegally. Both of these views seem to match previous Democratic proposals at a time when Republicans are unable to agree on how to handle immigration. Therefore, it is not hard to envision an outcome that will please far more Democrats than Republicans.”
