For the first time since 2001, a majority of Americans favor less immigration. Last year, 41% of Americans wanted less immigration. This year a Gallup poll shows that the number soared to 55%.
It's not surprising. According to the Customs and Border Patrol, 8.5 million illegal immigrants have entered the country since February 2021.
"This is the first time since 2005 that a majority of Americans have wanted there to be less immigration, and today’s figure is the largest percentage holding that view since a 58% reading in 2001. The record high was 65%, recorded in 1993 and 1995," reports Gallup.
There are also fewer Americans who want more immigration, now at 16%, a drop of 10 points. And those who think the current level of immigration is about right was down six points to 25%.
In 2020, the last year of the Trump presidency, only 28% of respondents said they wanted to reduce immigration. Most Americans appeared to be satisfied with Trump's immigration policies, which were aided by the pandemic and the application of Title 42, which allowed the Trump administration to deport almost all illegal immigrants who tried to enter the country.
The 65 percent peak of support for reduced immigration in the mid 1990s was a lead-up to the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act (IIRAIRA), to date the most significant — and most hawkish — immigration reform bill since 1986.
IIRAIRA was aggressively pushed by House Republicans under then-Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), making immigration a key issue ahead of the 1996 midterm elections.
Other peaks in support for reduced immigration track major political moments: In June 2001, only 41 percent of respondents wanted reduced immigration; in October of that year, following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, that number jumped to 58 percent.
The illegal immigration problem is far worse today than it was in 1996. But will the discontent over illegal immigration result in a favorable electoral outcome for Republicans?
In 1996, Republicans gained two Senate seats and lost one House seat. Bill Clinton, a popular incumbent president, was able to blunt Republican messaging on immigration. Democrats do not have that luxury in 2024. Plus, the number of illegals entering the country is staggering.
Joe Biden told the Hispanic Caucus in a Zoom call that he was working hard to make more illegals legal.
Of the lawmakers who did get to ask Biden a question, Correa told Biden that Latino voters need to hear from him and urged the president to “talk to these families and say to them, there is a pathway in my second administration for all of you that have been here for decades, that have followed the laws, that have paid taxes to be part of the American dream,” according to a partial transcript of the call obtained by NOTUS.
Biden responded that he strongly agreed “with every word you just said, not a joke.”
“I’m being deadly earnest,” Biden said, according to the transcript.
Gallup found that Americans favor several policies that would limit illegal immigration while also favoring some policies that would allow illegals to stay under certain conditions.
- Seventy-six percent are in favor of the U.S. hiring significantly more border patrol agents, and 63% favor allowing the president and the secretary of Homeland Security to temporarily prohibit individuals from seeking asylum when the U.S. Southwest border is overwhelmed.
- A slim majority of 53% favors expanding the construction of walls along the U.S. border, the first time a majority has been in favor of that policy.
- Americans split on a policy to deport all immigrants living in the U.S. illegally back to their home countries.
In a nation of immigrants, it's tricky to use the issue as a wedge. But this poll demonstrates that there are openings for the Republicans if they're smart enough to take them.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member