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Americans have varying opinions on a myriad of different political topics. Immigration is one of them. While there are plenty of disagreements when it comes to how the U.S. should handle its immigration policy, a recent poll suggests we agree more than we disagree on the matter.
However, despite the fact that everyone knows the country’s immigration system is hot garbage on rye bread, our government officials have been unable to work up a viable solution. Indeed, this has been the situation for decades.
Meanwhile, the U.S. still experiences a significant influx of illegal aliens. There seemed to be some promise when former President Donald Trump took office. He seemed to be serious about curbing illegal immigration. But Democrats and open borders Republicans stymied his agenda whenever they could, which meant the nation is now stuck in a worse situation than before the age of Trump.
Fox News published the findings of a poll showing that Americans largely agree on various matters pertaining to American immigration policy. It noted that “majorities favor both policies that strengthen the border as well as ones that find a way for more immigrants to come to the U.S. legally.”
From Fox News:
The survey, released Sunday, finds three-quarters of voters favor increasing the number of border agents on the southern border (74%) and the number of immigration judges to process asylums faster (73%). They also favor making it easier to immigrate (73%), which would presumably incentivize people to choose legal pathways to the U.S.
Slightly more voters favor allowing illegal immigrants with jobs in the U.S. to stay and apply for legal status (66% favor) than support deporting them back to their home countries (58%).
Voters are split on the idea of a border wall (49% favor, 49% oppose).
Republican pollster Daron Shaw noted that opinions on immigration and security “are nuanced” and that Americans “clearly want to enforce the border, but they’re also realistic about handling those who are already in the country illegally.”
The report noted:
There is bipartisan support for several of the proposals: increasing border agents (58% of Democrats favor and 89% for Republicans), upping the number of immigration judges (86% and 60%), and making it easier to immigrate (87% and 59%).
However, when it comes to illegal immigrants who already reside in the country, Americans differ along party lines. About 85 percent of Democrats favor allowing these individuals to remain in the country and apply for legal status while only 49 percent of Republicans agree. Meanwhile, 79 percent of Republicans wish to deport illegals compared to 40 percent of Democrats.
In a blatant Captain Obvious moment, the report also found that President Joe Biden “receives some of his worst marks on immigration” with 36 percent approving of his handling of the matter vs 61 percent that disapprove.
It seems Americans, for the most part, have the right ideas on how the U.S. could reform its immigration system, which is in dire need of an overhaul. If you want an example, check out my interview with my friend Solomon Graham and see what he and his family went through trying to navigate the immigration process legally. His story will likely infuriate you.
But, while Americans agree on the more pressing issues pertaining to immigration, the federal government has not been able, or willing, to develop meaningful solutions. This has been true under the leadership of both parties – none are innocent. Many believe beefing up border security while fixing the onerous and complicated immigration process would encourage more people to go through the proper channels to come into the United States.
Yet, Congress has done very little to reform the system. Indeed, they would prefer to use the issue as a political football, or a cudgel with which to bash their opposition. If they were to solve the problem, they would lose this weapon, which means that while Americans have to deal with the consequences of our faulty immigration system, our politicians can continue to leverage the matter to gain political power.
Unfortunately, this is an issue that will likely persist. Even if a Republican president gets into office and fixes the migrant crisis, the flaws in the system will remain because our legislators are too busy exploiting the matter. At this point, this will be the state of things in the foreseeable future, unless by some miracle we get lawmakers who actually want to improve things. We can only hope, can’t we?
