WASHINGTON, DC, Mar 25 – As the surge of illegal immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border intensifies, Americans express their growing concerns in two new polls.
Rasmussen reports that 65% of respondents to its survey see border security as a vital national security interest for the United States. “Sixty-two percent of voters say it is more important to gain control of the border than to legalize the status of undocumented workers already living in the United States,” according to Rasmussen.
Another poll conducted by Politico shows that support for the notion of a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants has declined dramatically, down 14% in the past three months, mostly among Democrats. In fact, among respondents who identified themselves as Democrats, support dropped from 72% three months ago to 57%.
According to Politico: “The idea of giving illegal immigrants a way to become citizens has been popular for several years, but the new poll numbers show Democrats could be losing the battle of public opinion in the wake of GOP messaging.”
The new border crisis, for which the Biden administration is taking heat, is at least partially responsible for these new numbers. Even the Washington Post seems to put the blame on Mr. Biden. As the Post put it, “He issued five immigration executive orders on Inauguration Day alone and promised an immigration policy far more humane and welcoming than that of his predecessor. His administration also began allowing unaccompanied minors into the country, a marked departure from the Trump administration’s approach.”
Rep. Vicente Gonzalez [D-TX] also seems to put the blame on the president. The Post quoted him as saying, “When you create a system that incentivizes people to come across, and they are released, that immediately sends a message to Central America that if you come across you can stay. It incentivizes droves of people to come, and the only way to slow it down is by changing policy at our doorstep. If they don’t change the policy, the flow of continued migration traffic isn’t going to stop or slow down.”
The president puts the blame for the calamity on former President Donald Trump, as does Vice President Kamala Harris, who has taken over the task of dealing with the crisis. He says she will take measures to stem the migration to our border with Mexico, but he did not say how she’ll do that. Nor has he said why he is not taking charge.
Meanwhile, the news that Ms. Harris would be taking over the task of dealing with the border crisis was not well received in some quarters. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey was quick to call her “the worst possible choice.” Ducey said, “If President Biden’s intent was to show that he’s taking this issue seriously, he’s really done the exact opposite here. He’s completely trivialized this issue by putting someone in charge who flat out just doesn’t care.”
Biden seemed to contradict himself as regards his blaming Mr. Trump when he declared to reporters last Sunday that “We’re in the process of doing it now, including making sure that we re-establish what existed before, which was they can stay in place and make their case from their home country.”
Does that mean he will reintroduce measures that Trump put in place that successfully dealt with the border surges in his day?
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas. “They have created a humanitarian crisis down here at this border that you have seen now. And the reason why they [migrants] are coming is because he says words do matter, and they do. The messaging is that if you want to come, you can stay.”