WASHINGTON (AP) – More Americans approve of than approve of President Joe Biden’s handling of the sharp increase in the number of unaccompanied migrant children arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border., and approval of its efforts for greater immigration policy deficit falls on other top issues – suggesting it could be a weak point for the new government.
A new poll by the Associated Press NORC Center for Public Research also shows that solving the problem of young people at the border is among America’s highest immigration priorities: 59% say providing safe treatment to unaccompanied children when they are apprehended should be a high priority, and 65% say the same on the reunification of families separated at the border.
Former President Donald Trump has built his presidency around tough policies that have expanded and strengthened border walls, has made it harder for people fleeing drug violence and other desperate conditions in Mexico and Central America to seek American asylum and immigrant families separated.
Biden sought to seize political momentum on the issue by promising a more humane and orderly system, but his government has struggled to cope with the growing number of migrants to the border, especially unaccompanied children.
Overall, 40% of Americans disapprove of Biden’s handling of children’s southern border without their parents, compared to just 24% who approve of it. Thirty-five percent have no opinion.
“I do not know how to put it politically correct: I feel that because there is this new government, that people feel they can come to the country,” said Mindy Kiehl, a 40-year-old real estate agent in Erie, Pennsylvania. , which otherwise approves Biden’s handling of the presidency so far.
“I understand. They are looking for shelter,” Kiehl added. “But bringing these children, it’s not good for the children, it’s not good for the families. I do not know how it will solve the problem. ”
Biden said at a recent news conference that “we are sending back the vast majority of the families that come.” But his struggle over the issue goes beyond unaccompanied minors.
Only 42% of Americans say they approve of the way the president handles immigration in general, and a similar proportion, 44%, say they approve of how he handles border security. Both are significantly lower than the 61% of Americans who say they approve of how Biden handles his work in general and not the president’s assessment of other issues, including his response to the coronavirus pandemic. and the management of the economy.
The gap comes despite the White House endorsing the most ambitious overhaul of the immigration system in a generation on Biden’s first day at the office. However, it got stuck in Congress, and Republicans and even some top Democrats say it’s going to be tough.
The plan would provide the estimated 11 million people in the U.S. illegally for citizenship for eight years, but the poll shows it does not rank high on the public’s priority list. Only 29% of Americans in general, including 42% of Democrats and 14% of Republicans, illegally called legal status for people in the country a high priority.
In addition, only a third of Americans say it should be important for refugees to be able to come to the U.S. or expand ‘guest workers’ programs.
The gap between Biden’s overall approval rating and his handling of immigration crosses party boundaries. Seventy-four percent of Democrats and 10 percent of Republicans agree with Biden’s handling of immigration, compared to 96 percent of Democrats and 22 percent of Republicans who generally approve of it.
The difference also comes down to racial and ethnic groups. Overall, 92% of black Americans, 67% of Hispanics and 52% of white Americans say they approve of how Biden handles his work. About immigration, 74% of Black Americans, but only 50% of Hispanics and 34% of White Americans say they approve.
Jack Henes, a retiree in Sebastian, Florida, said Biden did not address immigration as well as a few other buttons, calling the events on the southern border of the U.S. an ‘administrative nightmare’.
In anticipation of the larger legislative package, the Democratic-controlled House has implemented smaller-scale reforms that are set with an uncertain future in a 50-50 split by the Senate. Biden also used executive actions to try to put back many immigration policies of Trump administration but has been criticized because you did not do it fast enough.
Others feel he has gone too far.
“My concern is that President Biden has allowed the world to feel that it’s okay to just come in,” said Matthew Behrs, a Trump supporter in Wisconsin.
The poll shows that many Americans rank some of the key goals of the Democratic proposal as moderate priorities rather than high ones, suggesting that Biden does not have a clear mandate for the best way to proceed with the issue, which could potentially impair its leverage with Congress.
And many want to see that efforts to step up enforcement are part of the conversation: for 53%, increasing border security is a high priority. About 47% of Americans also say that the federal government should make it a strong priority to strengthen policies to prevent immigrants from exceeding their visas.
Less, about a third, say that high-stakes businesses to illegally hire businesses that reside in the United States and deport deputies who live in the United States illegally should be high priorities.
According to the poll, Americans are more likely to give preference in opposition to offering immigrants who are brought to the US illegally as children a way to stay legal, 53% to 24%, while 22% say they do not or opposed to it. Yet only 41% call extending legal protection to so-called Dreamers a high priority. A Plan Approved by the House but in anticipation of the Senate’s action it wants to do just that.
Biden has now appointed Vice President Kamala Harris to work with Central American countries to address the causes of illegal immigration. Henes, the retiree, suggested that Biden gave the problem to Harris as a time to buy himself, but that it did not help.
“They are still in turmoil,” Henes said. “They are not ready to name a play.”
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The AP-NORC survey among 1,166 adults was conducted on March 26-29 using a sample from the NORC-based AmeriSpeak panel, designed to be representative of the American population. The sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.