Immigration is a top issue for U.S. voters this year, as a record number of people say the situation at the southern border is a major problem or a downright emergency, according to the latest Fox News national poll released Thursday.
Nearly 9 out of 10 voters say the situation US-Mexico border It’s an emergency (44%) or a big problem (43%). This is an increase since February, when about 8 in 10 felt it was an emergency (41%) or a big problem (37%).
Concern about the border increased the most among people under 30 (+20 points), Black voters (+19), Democrats (+14), Hispanic voters (+12), and women (+12).
When this question was first asked in January 2019, during the Trump administration, 22% said the border was an emergency. Today, that has doubled to 44%.
More defects of the Biden administration The lack of enforcement at the border (71% agree a lot or somewhat) is higher than former President Trump and the Senate GOP’s approval of failed immigration legislation (57%).
Trump and Senate Republicans opposed a deal for immigration reform in February and May this year. Biden began rolling back Trump-era immigration policies in his first months in office.
There’s partisan consensus when it comes to pointing the finger at Biden: At least half of Democrats (50%), Republicans (91%), and independents (72%) believe the administration is to blame.
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However, when it comes to the role of Trump and Senate Republicans, Democrats (86%) are more likely to assign blame than Republicans (29%) and independents (52%).
Immigration is also Biden’s worst issue of the three job performance issues tested: 35% approval vs. 62% disapproval. He fares slightly better on foreign policy (39% approval, 58% disapproval) and the economy (37%, 61%).
The survey also asked about policy views related to immigration and border security and found that 63% are in favor of sending illegal immigrants back to their countries. This is down from 67% in 2023, but nowhere near the low of 52% in favor when it was first asked in 2015.
Another 6 in 10 (58%) favor allowing illegal immigrants holding jobs in the U.S. to apply for legal status, a record low.
The least favorable is allowing illegal immigrants to hold driver’s licenses: 30% are in favor, while 67% are against.
Immigration and the presidential race
At 14%, immigration is tied for second place with abortion as the most important issue for voters in this election, far behind the economy, which ranks first with 38%. All other issues tested are in the single digits.
The economy, immigration and abortion have been top-priority topics in national and state-level surveys for several months.
and the newly elected Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris Given the tight race between Harris and Republican nominee Donald Trump (49% Harris vs. 50% Trump), these issues could make a big difference.
Harris is considered better at handling abortion by a 16-point margin. Trump is considered better at handling two of the top three issues – by 14 points on immigration and by 6 points on the economy. His biggest advantage over Harris is in handling border security – by 19 points.
In early 2021, Biden chose Harris to lead the White House’s efforts to combat migration challenges at the southern border.
In three of the last four Fox News national surveys, voters trusted Trump more than Biden by at least 10 points on the economy, and on immigration, Trump typically held a double-digit lead.
Those who prioritize immigration and the economy prefer Trump over Harris by 62 and 34 points, respectively, while on the issue of abortion, Harris leads by 64 points.
Foreign policy check-in: Views on Ukraine stable, concerns on Israel-Hamas rise
About 7 in 10 people are extremely or very worried about a Russian invasion of Ukraine, which is in line with views from January 2023 onwards. At the start of the war, in the spring of 2022, about 8 in 10 people were worried.
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In contrast to the stable sentiment on Ukraine, concern about the conflict between Israel and Hamas rose to 74%, up 5 points from last month. Slightly more, 77%, are worried that the war will turn into a wider regional war.
About 6 in 10 voters support the Israelis in the conflict (60%), up from 57% in June. Twenty-nine percent support the Palestinians, which is largely unchanged from February.
At the beginning of the war, 68% were in favor of the Israelis and 18% were in favor of the Palestinians.
Although majorities of partisans are concerned about each war, Democrats are equally concerned about Ukraine (80%) and Israel-Hamas (78%), while Republicans and independents are more concerned about the Middle East than war with Ukraine and Russia.
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Republicans (76%) and Independents (53%) are in the majority Side with the Israelis While Democrats are more divided (46% Israeli, 42% Palestinian).
click here Top row And Crosstabs
This Fox News survey, conducted August 9-12, 2024, under the joint direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), includes interviews with a sample of 1,105 registered voters randomly selected from the national voter file. Respondents spoke to live interviewers on landlines (129) and cellphones (704) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (272). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ± 3 percentage points. The sampling error associated with results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can affect results. Weights are typically applied to age, race, education, and region variables to ensure that respondents’ demographics represent the registered voter population.
