The American people believe immigration is now the most important issue facing the country, according to a new Gallup poll which marks the first time since 2019 that respondents have identified immigration at their most pressing concern.
The survey, conducted from February 1-20, found that 28 percent of Americans believe immigration is the most important problem facing the country, an eight-point increase from the month prior. Government came in second behind immigration, with 20 percent of respondents agreeing that it is the most important problem facing the U.S. The economy and inflation trail immigration and government at 12 and 11 percent respectively.
A record-high 55 percent of adults believe immigration is a critical threat to U.S. interests, and eight point jump from last year. A whopping 90 percent of Republicans and 54 percent of independents view immigration as a critical threat compared to only 29 percent of Democrats. An additional 31 percent of Americans consider immigration an important but not critical threat, and 14 percent do not think immigration is an important or critical threat to U.S. interests.
Immigration was the only issue to shift significantly over the past month. It was last ranked at the top of Gallup’s most important issues list roughly five years ago due to concerns about a migrant caravan from Central America.
The surge in public concern over immigration comes as record numbers of illegal immigrants cross the Southern border under President Joe Biden. Senators James Lankford (R., Okla) and Chris Murphy (D., Conn) negotiated a bipartisan border deal released in February, but Republican lawmakers rejected the proposal because of what conservatives viewed as insufficient proposals to curtail illegal immigration.
In addition, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela is facing numerous charges in Georgia for the brutal murder of University of Georgia student Laken Riley, prompting fresh scrutiny on how the Biden administration is handling the southern border. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed Sunday the suspect was paroled and released into the country in September 2022 after crossing the southern border near El Paso, Texas.
President Biden is reportedly weighing an executive order to strongly restrict asylum access based on a 1952 law allowing the president to suspend foreign entries if they are not deemed in the country’s best interest.
Americans by a nearly 30 point margin believe former president Trump would do a better job handling the Southern border, a recent poll from Marquette University found. A majority, 53 percent, said Trump would handle immigration better than Biden, compared to 29 percent who think Biden is better on the issue than his predecessor. Marquette interviewed 882 registered voters nationwide with a 4.5 percentage point margin of error either way.
Gallup surveyed 1,016 adults and its margin of error is plus or minus four percentage points.