More Americans now want to reduce immigration, both legal and illegal, than at any other time since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, according to new polling data from Gallup.
Over the past year, the percentage of Americans who believe immigration should be decreased spiked from 41 percent to 55 percent, the highest total since 58 percent of Americans said so in October 2001, Gallup found. Only 16 percent of Americans want to see increased levels of immigration and 25 percent want it to remain at the current level.
Although views on immigration vary tremendously depending on partisan affiliation, Americans of all political stripes have a greater desire for less immigration than they did a year ago.
Among Republicans, 88 percent support less immigration, a 15-point increase since last year. There was an 11-point surge in the number of independents who support less immigration over the same period, compared to a 10 percent increase among Democrats, 28 percent of whom now say they favor less immigration.
Americans appear broadly supportive of measures to restrict immigration and pathways to citizenship for illegal immigrants if they meet a certain set of requirements.
More than three quarters, 76 percent of Americans, support hiring more border patrol agents, and 63 percent support giving the president emergency powers to temporarily shut down the southern border when it becomes overwhelmed with illegal immigrants.
A majority, 53 percent, are in favor of expanding the walls at the southern border, former president Donald Trump’s signature immigration proposal, and 47 percent approve of deporting all illegal immigrants back to their home country.
Gallup’s polling shows an increase in favorability for both of these restrictive immigration measures since 2019. In general, views on immigration policy are sharply divided along partisan lines, but 70 percent of Democrats favor hiring more border patrol agents and 58 percent are proponents of suspending asylum seeking when the border is overrun.
At the same time, 81 percent believe illegal immigrants who come to the U.S. as children deserve the chance to become U.S. citizens if they meet certain requirements, and 70 percent support a pathway to citizenship for all illegal immigrants if they meet a list of requirements over a certain period of time. Offering a pathway to citizenship for all illegal immigrants who meet certain requirements is eleven points less popular than it was four years ago.
The American people appear to support immigration restrictions in the short term and still view immigration favorably over the long term.
Overall, 64 percent of Americans continue to believe immigration to the U.S. is good for the country, compared to 32 percent who say otherwise. Democrats and independents overwhelmingly believe immigration is good for the country, in contrast to 39 percent of Republicans who believe so.
Immigration is one of the top issues for American voters this election cycle, and 25 percent of them say a candidate must hold their views on immigration to win their support. Another 56 percent say immigration is one of many important factors for which candidate they choose to vote for.
Trump is hoping to take advantage of Americans’s shifting views on immigration given the record levels of southern border crossings under President Joe Biden’s watch. If reelected, Trump is promising mass deportations and other executive actions to significantly curtail illegal immigration.