Tracking the Polls on Immigration

Summary

The Center for Immigration has been following the polling of the immigration issue closely since the election of President Biden. The 2020 presidential campaign was largely devoid of any debate on immigration policy, meaning that very few Americans voted for Joe Biden because of his immigration positions. But polling shows that there has been consistent, and growing, opposition to the Biden administration’s immigration policies and actions. Will public opinion eventually force a change in current immigration policies, and how might Biden’s immigration policies influence the next election?

On this week’s episode of Parsing Immigration Policy, Andrew Arthur, the Center’s resident fellow in law and policy, discusses immigration polls and their influence on the Biden administration’s policies. Arthur said, “Polling shows that Biden’s immigration policies are plainly unpopular with a large swath of the electorate. We have seen the public’s response to the monthly apprehension numbers at the border and Biden’s push for an amnesty, and we certainly saw a public reaction to the images of large numbers of migrants crossing the Rio Grande and the encampments in Del Rio, Texas. Immigration has jumped in importance to the public, but whether it remains a key issue will depend on how bad the border disaster becomes.”

In the closing commentary, Mark Krikorian, the Center’s executive director and the host of Parsing Immigration Policy, draws attention to the low morale of those who enforce the country’s immigration laws.

Host

Mark Krikorian is the Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies.

Guest

Andrew Arthur, Resident Fellow in Law and Policy of the Center for Immigration Studies

Related Reports

Harvard/Harris Poll Shows Disapproval of Biden Immigration Policies

Poll: Almost Half of the Electorate Deems Illegal Immigration a ‘Critical Threat’

Biden Receives Low Marks on Immigration in ABC News/Ipsos Poll

Donald Trump vs. Joe Biden on Immigration

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Intro Montage

Voices in the opening montage:

• Sen. Barack Obama at a 2005 press conference.
• Sen. John McCain in a 2010 election ad.
• President Lyndon Johnson, upon signing the 1965 Immigration Act.
• Booker T. Washington, reading in 1908 from his 1895 Atlanta Exposition speech.
• Laraine Newman as a "Conehead" on SNL in 1977.
• Hillary Clinton in a 2003 radio interview.
• Cesar Chavez in a 1974 interview.
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking to reporters in 2019.
• Prof. George Borjas in a 2016 C-SPAN appearance.
• Sen. Jeff Sessions in 2008 comments on the Senate floor.
• Charlton Heston in "Planet of the Apes".